Three terrorists who escaped from a heavily guarded prison in Nairobi’s capital have been apprehended in eastern Kenya, police said Thursday.
Mohamed Ali Abikar, Musharaf Abdalla Akhulunga, and Joseph Juma Odhiambo escaped from Kamiti Maximum Prison on Sunday.
Abikar, who was serving a 41-year sentence for his role in the 2015 killing of 148 Kenyan students, and the two other terrorists were apprehended in Kitui County’s Mwingi East area after locals reported their suspicious activities to the police.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ head, George Kinoti, confirmed the arrests and told journalists that the fugitives were being brought to Nairobi.
The Boni forest area of Kenya, which borders Somalia, has served as a safe haven for Somali-based al-Shabaab terrorists who cross the porous Kenya-Somali border to attack patrolling police officers.
Abdalla took part in a failed 2012 terrorist attack on the parliament buildings in Nairobi and Juma was arrested in 2019 while trying to enlist with the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group al-Shabaab.
Kamiti Maximum prison head Charles Mutembei Gerrard and his deputy Joseph Longarianyang were among six officers who were charged on Thursday over the prison break.
Police in Kenya had placed a bounty of $534,000 on information leading to the arrests of the escaped terrorists.
