A man whose selfie with the three Kamiti Maximum Prison escapees went viral has come out to narrate how he cornered them.
The man, identified as Paul Mwaniki, from Mwingi in Kitui County, stated that he spotted the trio at Endau Malalani Ward. They had traveled almost 160 kilometers from Nairobi to the remote village in search of their route to Somalia through Boni Forest.
Mwaniki narrated that upon the apprehension of the three, his first step was to take a selfie with them. He noted that they looked exhausted and hungry.
He wondered how the three reached the remote village despite police heightening surveillance across the country and even erecting roadblocks on major highways exiting Nairobi.
The villager noted that he became suspicious of the three owing to their mode of walking. The trio, according to him, were walking in a zig-zag formation as if to cover up their tracks.
"They walked in some sneaky way creating a zig-zag formation. It involved crossing the road from one point to another. They also seemed to avoid any contact with other residents compelling them to walk through thorny bushes," he narrated.
The three chose to walk through the thorny bushes sticking to their plan of not moving far away from the main road to avoid getting lost. Mwaniki noted that they had at some point asked the residents for direction leading to Boni Forest, a query that raised more suspicion.
"They walked in the shrubs but closer to the road to avoid getting lost. They were not aware of the roads in the area, they were clearly visitors. We noticed them immediately they set their feet in Endau Malalani Ward. I am wondering if they were ferried in a vehicle or an alternative means to get here," he stated.
Upon recognising them, Mwaniki decided to pursue them. He narrated that he was first afraid of raising an alarm since he was not sure what they were capable of, especially being terror convicts.
He then decided to approach three law enforcement officers from within the area and led them to where he first set his eyes on the escapees. Together with the officers, they managed to apprehended one but the other two temporarily fled.
The officers called for backup as the intensity of the search for the other two garnered pace. The two were apprehended minutes later as they were getting deeper into the forest.
Mwaniki narrated that the three had bought enough water, milk and snacks to sustain them as they continued with their journey to Somalia. They had paid for the items in cash.
He stated that at no point did he, or any other resident, feel threatened by the trio.
"We as loyal citizens have done all we had to do to apprehended them. We did not feel threatened or in any danger. What we feared is war they could have caused from outside. We also learnt that when they escaped from the highly guarded prison in the country, they did not have any weapons," he added.
The trio, Musharraf Abdalla, Joseph Juma and Mohammed Abdi had choreographed a well-oiled scheme that saw them dislodge a brick from the prison and made makeshift ropes from blankets before scaling the perimeter wall to escape.
Their jailbreak ordeal even saw President Uhuru Kenyatta fire prisons boss, Wycliffe Ogalo, and replace him with Brigadier (Rtd.) John Kibaso Warioba.
On the fate of the escapees, Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang'i, announced that they will be arraigned alongside the nine prison wardens suspected of aiding their escape.
