Court told six KWS rangers abducted missing fisherman Brian Odhiambo

A Nakuru court has been told that six Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers may have orchestrated the disappearance of fisherman Brian Odhiambo, who went missing on January 18.

Chief Inspector Julius Muhui, leading the investigation, told Senior Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibellion on Monday that inquiries uncovered evidence suggesting the officers violently seized Odhiambo outside Lake Nakuru National Park during the day.

The fisherman reportedly vanished at Manyani after being apprehended for allegedly trespassing in the protected area.

The accused rangers maintain that Odhiambo escaped custody, but investigators say there is no supporting evidence.

The six officers charged with abduction are Senior Sergeant Francis Wachira, Alexander Lorogoi, Isaac Ochieng, Michael Wabukala, Evans Kimaiyo, and Abdulrahman Sudi.

Chief Inspector Muhui explained that Sgt Wachira, who led the arrests, conspired with the other officers to carry out the alleged abduction.

“From our investigations, we established that Francis Wachira took part in assisting in the disappearance and abduction of Brian Odhiambo. Other officers collaborated and executed the abduction,” he told the court.

Investigators found that initial reports indicated Odhiambo had been apprehended while trying to escape, beaten, and forced into a Toyota Land Cruiser.

At Bondeni Police Station, Chief Inspector Muhui discovered that a missing person report had been circulated, but the station’s records showed no entry for Odhiambo among the nine suspects arrested that day.

The investigation then confirmed that the six accused officers were on duty during the operation targeting illegal fishermen.

Statements revealed that after arresting Odhiambo, the officers drove to a location called Vietnam, where they met another vehicle carrying additional officers. Sgt Wachira instructed that Odhiambo be moved to this second vehicle, guarded by Abdulrahman Sudi.

However, Sudi claimed that while transporting Odhiambo toward the Sewage area, he asked to stop briefly, and the fisherman pushed him and ran into the park.

“Sudi claimed that the suspect pushed him and escaped into the park immediately after he untied him. He said that he tried to pursue him in vain,” said Muhui.

Chief Inspector Muhui said that the alleged escape could not be verified, as no entry was made in the Occurrence Book (OB), which is required when a suspect flees custody.

“If you check the OB, such cases are made as an incidence and not as a remark. They ought to have made an entry on the nature of the occurrence. No report of an escapee in the OB was kept by the KWS. With that evidence, we decided to charge the six suspects,” he explained.

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Before continuing his testimony, the court conducted a site visit to the location where the abduction is alleged to have occurred.

The proceedings will continue as the officers’ statements are cross-examined by defence lawyers.