Kenyan authorities say they have captured three convicted terrorists who escaped Monday from a maximum-security prison in Nairobi.

The three convicts were arrested in Kitui County, central Kenya, after residents reported suspicious-looking people to the local authorities. 

The three convicts include: Musharaf Abdalla, who was convicted of attempting to attack the parliament in 2012; Joseph Juma Odhiambo, who was arrested in 2019 at the border between Kenya and Somalia for planning to join the Somali terror group al-Shabab; and Mohamed Ali Abikar, who was convicted for his role in al-Shabab’s attack on Garissa University in April 2015. That attack killed at least 148 people, most of them students. 

Kenyan media reports the three men were trying to reach Somalia and had asked people for directions to Garissa. 

Bob Mkangi, a constitutional lawyer, says the terror convicts will be treated like other prison escapees. 

“So, it’s a penal code that determines what the court can pronounce against you. It’s treated as a misdemeanor, about 2-3 years sentence. Now when you go back to prison, the prison authorities [are] under the guidance of the Prison Act and how they treat different convicts. You foresee extra measures to ensure that they are secure.” 

Before their escape, the three men were housed with more ordinary criminals inside Kamiti prison.

The escape prompted Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to fire the head of prisons, Wycliffe Ogalo, on Wednesday.
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