Inmates on life sentence escape from Kamiti Maximum Prison

Three inmates serving life sentences have escaped from the Kamiti Maximum Prison.

The three, according to Kenya Prisons Commissioner General, Isaiah Osugo, escaped early on Saturday morning by cutting grills during a blackout experienced at the prison.

“It was raining at that time and there was no electricity so they took advantage and cut grills in their cells to find their way out,” Mr Osugo said about the 3am incidence, adding that the blackout lasted for three hours. He said the alarm sounded late due to the blackout.

He said the three inmates also tied mosquito nets together and used them to descend from their cell walls to freedom.

“We are pursuing them and I have optimism that we will find them soon, because we have contacts of their families and even their Identity Cards,” Mr Osugo said.

Chaos erupted at the prison at dawn, as warders controlled other inmates who wanted to escape using the same route.

The warders also engaged in fights with some prisoners they perceived to be friends with the three inmates that escaped.

Regular Police officers and Administration Police officers joined the prison officers in the search and combed the nearby estates including Kahawa Wendani, Kasarani and some villages in Kiambu.

A woman who was driving near the prison was caught in the chase and accidentally shot and injured in the process.

The incident comes just a day after three other inmates were charged with the murder of suspected serial killer Harrison Okumu at the Kisumu Main Prison

The three who are accused of beating Mr Okumu to death in their cells on May 20, will answer to the charge on May 27 after taking a medical examination to determine whether they are suitable to stand trial.

Mr Okumu was found dead in the evening in what the authorities attributed to strangling and a blow to the head caused by a blunt object.