Details have emerged on how police tracked down and nabbed the three terrorism convicts who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Prison on Monday night, November 15.
Sources who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke revealed that the trio was having a meal at a local joint when residents noticed them and alerted the police.
Photos shared online showed the trio having a light meal in a small village in Kitui County.
According to the residents, the three, who looked exhausted and thirsty, bought a lot of milk, bottled water, bread and biscuits from local shops and paid cash.
The three Kamiti Prison escapees, Musharaf Abdallah Akhulunga alias Shukri, Mohamed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo alias Yusuf, are believed to have been on their way to Somalia when they were ambushed at Endau area of Mwingi Central by police officers following a tip-off from the members of the public.
After their escape from Kamiti, all police officers in the country were put on a high alert.
Police now state that the three convicts were headed to Somalia through the Boni Forest route.
Following news of their arrest, the Kenya Airforce airlifted officers from the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) from Wilson Airport in a bid to secure the escapees and facilitate their return to prison.
Residents who spoke to journalists said the three raised suspicion after they asked for directions to Boni Forest in Lamu County.
Mwingi residents noted that one of the convicts had swollen legs and was limping. They also noted that the trio appeared confused and lost, unaware of the geography around them.
They asked residents how they can connect to the Garissa or Tana River counties from the area.
Citizens also stated that they grew suspicious since neither of the escapees had luggage but noted one of them was carrying a gunny bag.
Kenyans.co.ke sought an explanation from security expert, George Msamali, who emphasized on the importance of citizen policing in fighting crime. He noted that in this instance, the public blew the whistle when they identified the convicts.
Msamali, in his theory, argued that the three were helped by someone with insider knowledge on how to circumvent the security at Kamiti Maximum Prison.
"My theory is that someone helped them escape because Kamiti has what we call the three-tier security and it is very difficult to get through such a set-up. Somebody was offered money and that is how these criminals escaped," Msamali stated.
"These people are not that smart to escape from Kamiti and stay hidden from the police and evade roadblocks, only to be captured somewhere in Mwingi. My theory is the person who helped them escape felt the heat had become too much and abandoned them and that's how they were caught."
On the Ksh60 million reward the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offered for information leading to their arrest, Msamali argued that the government will go through an intense process to identify if the information offered was genuine before giving the lucky citizen the bounty.
