Kamiti Prison Escapees Sentenced

The Three convicted terrorists who staged a daring escape from Kamiti Maximum Prison were on Monday charged at the Kahawa law courts.

Musharaf Abdalla, Joseph Juma Odhiambo, and Mohamed Abdi Abikar appeared before Chief Magistrate Diana Mochache alongside a fourth accused Abdulmajid Yassin.

The trio of escapees pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody. They, however, denied another count of committing a terrorist act by escaping from prison, which was a threat to national security.

The fourth accused, Abdulmajid Yassin, was charged with aiding the escape of the other three. He denied the charge.

Justice Muchache sentenced each of the three to an additional 15 months in prison.

The Prosecution had asked the court to jail the escapees for the maximum term of two years for escaping lawful custody, saying they had instilled fear among Kenyans.

But Justice Muchache acknowledged that the convicts had confessed and reduced the burden of proof for the prosecution.

“Because the accused persons are remorseful and have saved this court’s time, the court will not sentence them to the maximum (sentence) prescribed, and accordingly proceeds to sentence each accused persons to 15 months’ imprisonment.”

Interestingly, one of the accused -Musharaf Abdalla – said if he got another chance to escape, he would do it.

“Nilikuwa natafuta uhuru wangu, nimekaa miaka kumi hapa ndio maana nikajaribu kutoroka,” he said, adding: “Ee lazima nitoroke.”

Abdalla also asked the court not to send him back to Kamiti as he feared being victimised.

“I (know) some of the officers who helped us break out of the prison have not yet been arrested, so I beg the court not to take me back.”

The other accused persons asked the court to allow them to serve the 15-month term concurrently with their current sentences.

Muchache ruled that they would serve the sentence after completing their previous terms.

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison Warders Granted Bail

Meanwhile, 12 Kamiti Maximum Security Prison warders suspected of aiding the prisoners escape custody have been granted bail.

The suspended Kamiti Prison boss Charles Mutembei was released on a cash bail of Sh300,000 while 11 wardens were let go on Sh200,000 each.

One prison warden, who was unrepresented, was released on a cash bail of Sh50,000.

The case will be mentioned on December 20, 2021.

source https://nairobiwire.com/2021/11/kamiti-prison-escapees-sentenced.html