The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured the conviction of three terror suspects who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in 2021.
According to the DPP, the three suspects who escaped from the prison had been found guilty in the Kahawa Anti-Terrorism Court.
Between November 14 and 15 of 2021, the three are said to have escaped from the GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
In its submissions, the prosecution argued that the suspects escaped from the prison and thus knowingly committed a terrorist act.
Further, the DPP stated that the suspects’ escape from lawful custody was an act that compromised national security.
“The court heard that on the night of 14th November 2021 and the morning of 15th November 2021, at GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison within Nairobi County, the three knowingly committed a terrorist act by escaping from lawful custody, an act that prejudiced national security,” the ODPP statement dated June 3 stated.
Principal Prosecution Counsel James Muchirah led the case that secured the guilty verdict against the accused at the Anti-Terrorism Court.
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DPP Case on the Kamiti Escape Suspects
The Director of Public Prosecutions noted that the suspects had been charged with committing a terrorist act contrary to Section 4(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
Further, during the trial at the court, the prosecution presented 10 witnesses who provided evidence enabling the court to issue a guilty verdict against the three accused persons.
Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage convicted the trio in favor of the DPP and directed that the sentencing proceedings take place on June 18, 2026.
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Charges Against Kamiti Escape Suspects
Among the terror suspects convicted was one who had been found guilty by the court for having a connection with the Garissa University attack in 2015 that left 148 people dead.
The Garissa University attacker, alongside three others, was serving a 41-year jail term at the Kamiti Prison following his conviction in 2019.
Further, one of the three suspects had been arrested in 2012 over a failed attack plan on the Kenyan parliament, while the other one was arrested and found guilty for trying to join the al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia.
The escape of the three suspects raised public concerns in the country, with then Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i calling for an investigation into the events surrounding the escape as he announced the search for the escapees.
In addition, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offered a KSh 60 million reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of the convicts.
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