- Locals in Nakuru were treated to dramatic scenes on Thursday, October 23, after four remandees facing robbery charges attempted to escape
- The four staged the daring escape as they were being taken to Nakuru Law Courts for the hearing of their case
- Police officers had to fire in the air in a frantic effort to recapture the accused persons, who had managed to reach Nakuru city centre
A dramatic chase ensued outside Nakuru Law Courts after four remandees facing 11 counts of robbery with violence staged a daring escape from the lawful custody of the prison officers.
Source: Original
How Nakuru remandees staged daring escape
According to the officers, the suspects were being taken to the courts to face the charges of robbery with violence, including the brutal killing of a police officer in the Bondeni area, when they attempted to escape.
Prison officers, backed up by police officers, were forced to shoot in the air as they made frantic attempts to re-arrest them as they tried to escape into Nakuru CBD.
The four were later caught and taken back to the courts, where normal activities had been briefly interrupted by the scare.
Speaking to the media, Edwin Omwanza, an advocate representing the remandees, said that one of them was injured in the mouth by a shot fired by the officers during the melee.
He claimed his pleas to the officers to facilitate the injured to the hospital for attention fell on deaf ears.
“I represent five of the clients facing robbery with violence; three of them are from Kuria at the border of Kenya and Tanzania. I was informed that they had tried to escape, and I have found them in critical condition, one shot on the mouth,” Omwanza said.
The advocate also accused the officers of failing to adhere to the constitutional rights of the individuals to get medical attention.
Were Nakuru remandees who tried to escape shot?
However, Nakuru deputy county police commander Zachariah Omae refuted the claims of any injuries, saying that although the officers fired the shots, none landed on the remandees.
Source: Original
Omae further said that the suspects overpowered the officers as they were entering the precincts of the court and tried to run away, prompting the response from officers.
“Prison officers and the police, together with the public, arrested them in the middle of Nakuru CBD and returned to court. They will face an additional charge of escaping from lawful custody in addition to the other criminal charges,” the police boss said.
Omae noted that in the process of chasing the remandes, the officers used the bullets to alert colleagues of the situation, and in the incident, nobody was injured or any damage.
Mahinda Mwangi, who witnessed the chase, said that he had packed his car when he heard the gunshots and saw the suspects trying to navigate the corner before being caught up.
The four are among six people charged with the fatal shooting of a police officer in Freehold, in Nakuru Town East, in June 2025.
How murder suspect escaped from Kitale Law Courts
Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported that a man accused of murder escaped from Kitale Law Courts, where he had been taken to be charged.
The accused, Reuben Karakacha, reportedly escaped after overwhelming a prison guard who had accompanied him to the latrine.
Kenyans, however, questioned the circumstances under which the suspect escaped.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
