NAIROBI, Kenya — Three terrorism convicts who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in 2021 have each been sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison over the escape.
Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage, sitting at the Kahawa Law Courts, found Musharaf Abdala, Mohamed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo guilty of committing a terrorist act contrary to Section 4(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said the three were convicted after the prosecution established that they deliberately escaped from lawful custody during the night of November 14 and the morning of November 15, 2021.
“The prosecution established that on the night of 14th November and the morning of 15th November 2021, the three knowingly escaped from lawful custody at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in a manner that prejudiced national security,” the DPP said.
The additional sentences will take effect at different times depending on the existing sentences each convict was serving.
In determining the case, Magistrate Kiage rejected the suggestion that the three simply fled independently after escaping from prison.
The court noted that they remained together as they travelled from Kamiti to Kitui and later to Endao, describing their movements as evidence that they shared a common intention to evade recapture.
“If their only intention was to flee and evade re-capture, it would have made more sense to split up and go in different directions. This would have reduced their chances of detection,” the court ruled.
According to evidence presented by the prosecution, the three used a combination of motorcycles and public service vehicles after leaving Kamiti.
They travelled to Kitui town before proceeding by vehicle to Endao, after which they moved on foot through informal routes in an effort to avoid detection.
The prosecution said the convicts did not have identification documents, making it difficult for them to travel through conventional routes without attracting the attention of security officers.
Their movements subsequently triggered a major security operation as authorities sought to locate and recapture them.
Although each convict received an additional 15-year sentence, the terms will be served at different stages because of their existing sentences and individual circumstances.
Joseph Juma Odhiambo had been serving a 15-year prison sentence before the Kamiti escape.
The DPP said Odhiambo had previously been convicted in Mandera over offences relating to travelling to a terrorist-designated country, failing to report his departure and leaving Kenya through a non-designated border crossing.
The court directed that his additional 15-year term will begin after he completes the sentence he was already serving.
Mohamed Ali Abikar was serving a cumulative 41-year prison sentence following his conviction over his role in the 2015 Garissa University attack.
The attack on Garissa University College left 148 people dead, making it one of Kenya’s deadliest terrorist attacks.
The DPP said Abikar’s additional 15-year sentence will similarly take effect after he completes the existing 41-year term.
Musharaf Abdala, meanwhile, had previously been sentenced to 22 years in prison before the High Court acquitted him on appeal.
The Kahawa court ordered him to serve the additional 15 years from the date of his acquittal.
The case dates back to November 2021, when the three convicts managed to escape from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, one of Kenya’s highest-security correctional facilities.
Their disappearance triggered an extensive security operation and raised questions about security at the facility and how the prisoners managed to leave lawful custody.
The circumstances surrounding their movements after the escape became central to the prosecution’s case.
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Investigators established that the three travelled together through several locations before eventually being recaptured.
The prosecution argued that their coordinated movements demonstrated more than a simple attempt to escape custody and amounted to conduct that endangered national security.
The court ultimately agreed with the prosecution’s position and convicted the three under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The new sentences mean that all three convicts will spend additional time in custody beyond the prison terms imposed in their earlier terrorism-related cases.
The DPP said the convictions demonstrated the seriousness with which the State treats attempts by terrorism suspects or convicts to escape lawful custody.
The case also highlights the legal consequences that can follow an escape from custody where the circumstances meet the threshold for a terrorism offence.
The three will therefore remain subject to their respective existing sentences before the additional 15-year terms take effect, according to the court’s orders.
