NAIROBI,Kenya, Nov, 17 – Fired Kenya Prisons Service Commissioner General Wycliffe Ogallo has been arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and taken to their Mazingira based headquarters along Kiambu road.
Also arrested is Kamiti Maximum Prisons Commandant Charles Mutembei alongside his deputy.
The three were escorted for questioning by a contingent of Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) officers.
The have joined seven other prison officers who were arrested on Tuesday over the shocking prison break by three convicted terror suspects.
The escaped inmates include: Mohammed Ali Abikar who was jailed for 41 years for his role in the Garissa university Attack.
Musharraf Abdallah alias Shukri or Alex Shikanda was serving a 22 year sentence after he was convicted for being in possession of explosives and firearms. He is also said to have been planning an attack on parliament in 2019.
Joseph Juma Odhiambo was convicted for travelling to a terrorist designated country without passing through a designated immigration exit point and failing to report departure to the immigration office.
The arrests came shortly after president Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi oversaw the swearing in of Brigadier (Rtd) John Kibaso Warioba as the new Kenya Prisons Commissioner General.
The appointment which was announced via way of notification of presidential action came as Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i briefed president Kenyatta on the recent security breaches at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison this past Sunday that led to the escape of three terror inmates.
“The briefing noted the compelling public interest in the matter and the need to entrench accountability in the ranks of the leadership of all security organs; in honour of the many Kenyans who have lost their lives and the enormous sacrifices made by all Kenyans and particularly the security organs to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat terror networks,” read a section of the presidential notification.
Kenyatta further directed the interior ministry to hasten the immediate capture of the three terror fugitives.
Those found culpable the head of state said should be brought to full account.
“In keeping with our ethos of good governance, in the intervening period and pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigations, the State Department of Correctional Services has similarly been directed to sanction disciplinary action against all Kenya Prisons Service personnel who were on duty when the security breaches occurred; which action shall include redeployment and/or immediate suspension of all affected officers,”
Kenyans on the other hand have been warned to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities to police.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi said preliminary investigations suggested the escape from arguably the most secured maximum prison facility in the country was abetted by laxity and incompetence and vowed more arrests and prosecutions will follow after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations moved in to investigate the prison break.
The DCI placed a Sh60 million bounty on the recapture of the three fugitives.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)
