DETAILS OF PRESIDENT UHURU’S CRISIS MEETING HELD IN NAIROBI

A crisis meeting was held Wednesday at State House over the ‘jailbreak’ of three inmates convicted of terror offences and probably aided by prison warders.

The situation is deeply disturbing if Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, the country’s most secure, cannot contain the country’s most dangerous convicts.

Further, indications the escape was aided by wardens themselves  suggest the security system itself is flawed and despite vetting those who are supposed to keep Kenyans safe are willing to expose them to appalling danger.

xxxThe commissioner of prisons was sacked.

The meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta brought together top Interior Ministry officials and prisons bosses.

Already, Kenya has deployed heavily armed police officers around key installations in response to twin suicide bomb blasts that rocked Kampala. At least six people were killed and 30 injured.

National police spokesman Bruno Shioso told the Star security has been heightened countrywide and multiple operations have been put in place to mitigate threats.

Authorities believe the escape of the three convicts who were serving jail terms for terrorism-related crimes was aided by wardens.

Seven wardens on Monday were arrested over the ‘escape’ and officials said there could be more arrests.

The three were being held at Block A, which holds some of the most dangerous criminals.

PRISON BREAK

It has emerged the three convicts left their cellmate because he is a PWD who cannot move unaided. There were four in the cell.  

Before leaving, the three convicts had removed a stone from the wall of their cell, revealing a cavity that contained items needed in their flight.

They used a rope made from pieces of clothes and an old one that seemed to have been brought there for the mission to scale two ten meter walls and drop to a field behind Block A 6.

Pictures taken from the cell and site of climbing the walls suggest the convicts helped each other to escape.

This came as two more wardens were arrested over the escape increasing to nine, the number of those in custody.

The officer in charge of the facility was also questioned over the incident and recorded his statement.

They will be held at the Gigiri police cells as investigations go on for 25 days.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said preliminary investigations suggested the escape from arguably the most secured maximum prison facility in the country was abetted by laxity and incompetence.

Matiang’i, who led a senior security team to Kamiti prison Monday evening, further announced a massive manhunt involving specialised teams.

The escapees are: Musharraf Abdalla Akhulunga alia Zarkarawi, Mohammed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo alia Yusuf.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has placed Sh60 million bounty on their head.

By the star

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