Convict arrested at kin's home after prison-break

A convict who escaped from the Wundanyi GK Prisons on June 17 has been re-arrested.

Claud Mwanyumba Ngolo, who was serving two-year term, was found hiding in a relative’s home within the county.

 Mwanyumba was jailed after being guilty of cultivating bhang at his farm in Mgange location, Wundanyi division, last year.

The prisons chief Khamisi Bakari confirmed the rearrest yesterday and said the convict was picked at his in-laws homestead at the border of Wundanyi and Mwatate sub-counties.

He said the suspect’s in-laws alerted the authorities about his presence on Saturday midnight.

“We cannot arrest his in-laws because they are the ones who alerted us. We thank them for their good gesture. The suspect will be charged in court today for escaping from lawfully custody,” said Mr Bakari who led the security operation.

The arrest comes at a time when the prison authorities have put in place measures to stem frequent jailbreaks at the facility.

Bakari said inmates serving long-term sentences will not be allowed to work outside the facility.

“We have instructions not to allow prisoners serving long jail terms to work outside the facility,” said the prisons boss.

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS

On June 17, Ngolo escaped from lawfully custody in unclear circumstances.

There are conflicting accounts of his escape with some prison officers saying the suspect was milking dairy cows belonging to a senior prison officer when he escaped.

“The inmate whose case file number is 415/2015 escaped from lawful custody due to negligence. The authorities have been engaging prisoners in private chores at the expense of serving the community,” claimed one of the prison officers who declined to be named for fear of victimisation.

Bakari however denied the claim.

“The allegations that the suspect escaped due to negligence are not true. We have not been engaging prisoners in private chores as claimed in some quarters. In this case, the suspect was working with others on the prisons farm where he made his way out of the prison,” he clarified.

Bakari disclosed that two prisoners had so far escaped in the recent past.

One of the suspects identified as William Ochieng Odhiambo, who was serving a two-year jail term for theft, escaped recently while working at the prison farm.

It is alleged the suspect escaped after he tricked the officers that he wanted to answer a long call a bush.

Another prisoner identified as Douglas Serikali alias “GK” from Bura escaped and was rearrested.