KWS officer in charge of operation where fisherman disappeared grilled in court

KWS ranger Evans Kimaiyo testifies before Senior Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion at the Nakuru Law Courts. January 18, 2025. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officer in charge of an operation that culminated in the disappearance of a fisherman believed to be Brian Odhiambo was on Monday questioned in a Nakuru Court.

Odhiambo disappeared in the hands of the KWS rangers on January 18, 2025, at the Sewage area, inside Lake Nakuru National Park, after they arrested him for illegal fishing and trespass.

Senior Sergeant Francis Wachira, who headed a task force that arrested the fisherman alongside nine others on the fateful day, took the stand before Senior Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion.

Wachira is charged with abducting Odhiambo to confine him, alongside his five subordinates, whom he commanded during an operation to arrest illegal fishermen and park trespassers.

Wachira defended himself, saying that the first suspect, whose description matched that of Odhiambo, escaped their custody when he was left with one of the rangers, Abdulrahaman Sudi.

However, when cross-examined by the prosecution and family lawyers over the incident, Wachira failed to answer key questions, casting doubt on his defence.

KWS ranger Abdulrahaman Sudi, one of six officers charged with the alleged abduction of missing fisherman Brian Odhiambo, at the Nakuru Law Courts. January 18, 2025. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Wachira testified that despite pursuing the fisherman for some time before he was arrested by four rangers, including two armed, they left him alone with Sudi, a ranger driver, contrary to their standing orders which provided for a pair of officers.

“After he was arrested at around 11 am, I ordered him tied up and he boarded Sudi’s vehicle. I left the suspect with Sudi alone,” testified Wachira.

He failed to explain how Sudi was supposed to drive their motor vehicle, patrol the park, do surveillance and at the same time guard the suspect.

“Since I was under strain, I weighed my options and I ordered Sudi to remain with the suspect who was not a threat and was cooperative. I took the 20 officers with me for the operations,” he said.

Wachira explained that Sudi was to guard the suspect at their Centribox where he was supposed to wait for them.

He, however, struggled to explain why he did not instruct Sudi to surrender the suspect at the investigations office, which was nearby, as they pursued the others.

As the team closed in on the other nine suspects, Wachira testified that he radio-called Sudi at around 1 pm and instructed him to go back to Sewage, with the suspect at the back of his car and do surveillance work.

He testified that he called him again at around 2 pm, when Sudi informed him that the suspect had injured him and escaped, after he allowed him to relieve himself.

Despite testifying that Sudi was a tactical officer with decades of experience, Wachira said that he believed Sudi’s story without questioning him.

He, however, failed to explain why he did not immediately send a reinforcement to assist Sudi in pursuing the suspect but instead called Harrison Kamande, his senior, for instructions.

He shocked the court when he testified that Kamande instructed him to order Sudi to instead drive to an observation point, 3km from the scene and use a binocular to try and locate the suspect.

Sudi, who was allegedly injured, is said to have driven all the way to an office, left the vehicle and proceeded to the observation area where he stayed from around 2 pm to 5 pm.

Wachira testified that at around 6 pm, after apprehending nine suspects, he called Sudi and instructed him to go to an area, pick officers and go and look for the suspect.

“I did not send immediate backup because we had another assignment. I sent a team to look for the suspect in the evening because that is the time they mostly leave their hideouts inside the park,” he explained.

Wachira was pressed to explain why the incident of the escape was not recorded in an Occurrence Book (OB), which he claimed was a lie.

However, when the OB was provided, it showed that the incident of the escape was recorded under the ‘Remarks’ column instead of the ‘Nature of Occurrence’ as provided for by the law.

Under the occurrence column, nothing was recorded from 10.30 pm to 4 pm, including the said escape and the evening search party.

Wachira defended his claim, stating that incidents can be recorded in the remarks column; however, when taken through other occurrences, evidence showed that no other incident has ever been recorded in the remarks column.

“Evidence showed that under remarks, it is mostly filled with ‘noted’, ‘Checked’, ‘captured’ and ‘confirmed’ before it is signed,” he admitted.

In addition, the escape incident was recorded against the time between 12 midnight and 6.50 am, way before the operations began.

He failed to produce any evidence to show that the suspect escaped. He also failed to provide details of the arrested suspect, including his name, despite denying that it was Odhiambo.

Further, he failed to produce any evidence showing that they reported the escape, a criminal offence, to the police.

“I admit that the suspect was not under lawful custody because we did not take his details and book him at any police station,” he testified.

He denied that he beat some of the suspects he had arrested, despite investigations showing that three of the nine they arrested underwent treatment after sustaining injuries.

The hearing will proceed on September 21.