Kamiti Prison escape: How condemned block 'A' became escape route for terror convicts

Movie enthusiasts would perhaps remember Escape from Alcatraz, a 1979 movie based on a true story of the breakout attempt by Anglin brothers, John and Clarence, and Frank Morris to escape the then inescapable prison to escape.

The film directed by Don Siegel and featuring Clint Eastwood indicates that the trio used stolen spoons to chip the wall around the air vents in their cells using stolen spoons and used accordions they played during music classes to hide their progress.

The fourth prisoner, Allen West did not make it as he was late to leave his cell at the agreed time.

Now, let us take you closer home, that is Kamiti Maximum Prison. This is the one of the most guarded, if not the most protected prison in the country.

On November 15, 2021, three terror convicts; Musharaf Abdalla alias Shuku, alias Shaliff, alias Alex Shikanda, or Rashid Suantan, Mohamed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo had just like in the movie, escaped from the facility.

And, those who were meant to guard them on the night of escape denied being involved or sleeping on their job.

The prison wardens who were charged in court are Boniface Njoroge, Robert Kipkurui, Ronald Muendo, Onesmus Rono, John Muchui, Moses Kakai, Willy Wambua, Nicholas Otieno, Bernard Mokua, Sylvester Musyoka, Edwin Muhia, Joseph Nakwai and John Libere.

Muhia, a prison inspector, denied any wrongdoing. He told the court that he never saw anything unusual on the night they escaped.

He said that all the prisoners were locked inside when he checked in and out. At the same time, he argued that the CCTV footage produced in court was unclear, and the evidence was contradictory. He asserted that he did not know how they moved from Kamiti.

Prison’s Constable Joseph Nakwai, who was manning the compound outside the block said he too never saw anything. he alleged that the area he was tasked was dark and had no been issued with a torch.

Kakwai also said if there is an escape at the facility, a certain alarm is raised signaling a total lockdown. However, on the night of November 14 and 15, he said, it was all quiet until he handed over.

He said that one of the escapees allegedly singled out those who helped them to break out but they were not charged.

The other person in court, as an accused person is Inspector Musyoka. He too denied any wrongdoing. According to his testimony, he took over from Njuguna and everything was well until the escape was discovered.

He testified that he went to the CCTV room and it emerged that the cameras were not properly focusing on the block.

He distanced himself from any blunder that may have occurred saying that despite the fact he was in charge of the early shift, everyone should carry his burden. The mistake, he insisted, was not his.

Another constable, Robert Soi, told the court that all the doors were locked properly adding that not even a cat can go through them.

While refuting claims of neglecting duty, Mr Soi asserted that he never saw anything abnormal on the said night.

Ronald Muendo, also denied that he had anything to do with the escape. He said that he handed over to the next team when everything was okay. He said there was a bias as some of the officers who were with them on the night had not been charged.

The convicts’ escape is chronicled in testimonies by different witnesses before the Kahawa Law Courts.

Chief Inspector Meshack Kagera was among those who told the State’s side of the story. He told the court that between 11 and 12.30 pm, he was informed by the Director of Investigations that terror suspects had escaped Kamiti.

Kagera narrated that when he got to Kamiti, he called Gerald Mutembei, who was the then In-charge to explain what transpired.

The DCI officer said Mutembei told him that a security officer by the name Lekulal had told him that other officers who had gone to check on the generator discovered a rope that was hanging from the inside to outside of the main wall.

The rope, according to him was adjacent to condemned block A and upon checking, they discovered that the trio who were in cell six were allegedly missing.

How the trio managed to escape, according to Kagera, they folded their mattresses to resemble people sleeping on the ground, then dug a hole out, concealed with a mattress and waited for the breakout time.

He told the court that following a search, they found two nails, one which was sharpened inside the cells, and there was a chisel at the place where convicts condemned to die were hanged.

He said that at ‘kinyonga’ they managed to access the hole that had been dug.

Just like in Alcatraz, one prisoner did not escape in Kamiti. Abdimajid Yassin, was left in cell six.

The investigator said that upon interrogating him, Yassin said he thought the other inmates had been transferred after he woke up all alone in the cell.

Yassin alias Browny had pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges on September 20, 2012, and was sentenced to 59 years.

He had been arrested alongside Alex Shikanda and Musharaf Abdalla following a swoop that led to the discovery of a cache of weapons including explosives, guns and ammunition.

This, according to security sources would be one of the deadliest plot on Kenyan soil had it happened.

Shikanda and Abdalla had been sentenced to 22 years in prison each by the magistrate’s court.

Odhiambo who was arrested along the Kenya-Somalia border while attempting to cross over to Somalia   was slapped with 15 years.

They were then acquitted on appeal by the High Court, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed Justice Grace Nzioka’s verdict.

In the breakout case, Yassin informed the investigators that he tried to ask from the security officers what was happening but did not get an answer.

According Kagera, the transfer of Yassin to cell six was meant to conceal the escape as he would have allegedly answered the roll call.

“The transfer was to make sure that when a call up is done in the morning, he would respond officer who first ask ‘Mko’, and inmates would respond ‘tuko’.

Sylvester Mukisyo took over the morning shift from Edwin Muhia.

In his defence, Warden Njoroge said he had worked at Kamiti for less than four months when the escape happened.

He had been transferred from Kibos Prison and was manning the compound that night alongside Joseph Nakwai.

Nakwai worked from 7pm while Njoroge rested and took over at around 1am until 7am and he said that nothing unusual happened.

He testified that the guard commander came in for a check-up at around 3:40am and found that everything was ok before he left his post at around 7am for his house.

He said he was summoned at around noon and was arrested alongside his colleagues and were all taken to the Muthaiga Police Station.

He argued that the state had not presented any evidence or witness to show that he aided the three men to escape.

Njoroge questioned why none of the officer from the patrol and dog units who were on duty that night was charged.

Duty officer Joshua Wekesa, a voluntary doctor with Kamiti said that at the time he was in charge of the dog and horse unit.

He testified that when they brought in the dog who sniffed the blanket and environment, they picked the scent.

“The dogs led us to a wooden gate between tower 7 and then to a beifer zone between the outer wall of the maximum prison.”

He said that along the external wall there are towers 5, 6 and 7 and a small gate along the briefer zone and here the scent disappeared.

The dogs were taken back where they picked the scent at tower 5 and they directed them to the staff line from Kamiti medium where there was a quarry to old lagoon for sewerage.

“They later gave us direction towards Kamae estate on the tower end of the prison where the scent disappeared because there is a swamp.”

They called off the search and reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

He told Magistrate Boaz Ombewa that none of the officers from the dog unit, deployed that night had reported anything and none was charged.

Julius Lekulal testified that after the authorities were notified of the jailbreak they conducted a headcount where they found that three prisoners were missing.

From their cell they found a hole that had been dug.

Engineer John Waweru from the Public Works department said that the prison wall was of good quality.

From his estimates the prisoners with the tools that were recovered from the scene may have dug the hole for only 90 minutes with sustained chiseling but it looks like it was dug over a period of time.

He noted that the chisel had paint on and did not have impact that it would have if they were using a hammer to hit it.

While it is not known how long it took the three men to break out, they did it undetected.