A contingent of police officers has reportedly pitched camp at the Kibera slums after an inmate from the Kamiti Maximum Prison escaped from their custody into the densely populated slum.
According to reports, the inmate seized the opportunity after he was taken before the Kibera Law Courts on Wednesday, July 23, for a hearing and vanished from the premises in unclear circumstances.
The inmate, serving a 20-year sentence, had appeared before the court in connection with a separate armed robbery case from November 2023, where he allegedly shot and injured a man in Langata.
Despite arriving in handcuffs and under heavy guard, he somehow slipped past at least four security checkpoints and scaled a rear perimeter wall before vanishing into the dense structures of the slum.
Police investigations suggest that the suspect might have exploited gaps in supervision and terrain knowledge to make his move. Despite being shackled, he managed to evade guards, bypass key checkpoints, and vanish without a trace.
The suspect had appealed a death sentence imposed on him, and it was substituted with a sentence of 20 years imprisonment on each count.
The sentences were to run concurrently from December 11, 2023. On Wednesday, he was appearing for another robbery with violence case in Court 3 at the Kibera Law Courts when he escaped.
Following the escape, tension has arisen in the area with officers surrounding the area as they try to trace the suspect.
Meanwhile, no official statement has been issued by the prison authorities. The incident has raised serious questions about security protocols at the court - just how did the suspect bypass four separate security checkpoints under armed guard?
As the manhunt continues across Kibera, the locals have been encouraged to report sightings while maintaining safety.
This is not the first time a suspect has escaped under police surveillance. In January, eight suspects staged a dramatic escape from a prison in Wundanyi, Taiva Taveta County.
According to authorities, all eight suspects broke free after scaling and compromising the facility's roof in the Wundanyi Prison on Sunday, January 26.
