UPDATE - Kenyan leader fires country’s prison chief over terrorist jailbreak

UPDATES TO REFLECT ‘POLICE ESCORT’ FOR OUSTED PRISON CHIEF, POLICE DENY REPORTS OF ARREST; NEW DECK

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya’s president on Wednesday sacked the nation’s prison chief over a jailbreak by three terrorists, including one serving time for the murders of 148 students.

Wycliffe Ogalo was fired by Uhuru Kenyatta, said a presidential statement, adding that John Kibaso Warioba, a former army officer, has already been named his successor.

The appointment follows a briefing to Kenyatta over security breaches at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison that led to the inmates’ escape.

Just after he was fired, police officers escorted Ogalo from his office in the capital.

Police denied reports that the ousted chief had been arrested, despite being sandwiched between two heavily armed officers who were part of about a dozen police sent to his office.

In a statement, the national police said of the escort: “This is to clarify that police only facilitated a smooth and seamless handover of office.”

Police have also arrested Kamiti Warden Charles Mutembei and his deputy and taken them in for questioning about the escape.

At the time of Monday’s escape, Mohamed Ali Abikar was serving a 41-year sentence for involvement in the 2015 killing of 148 students in Kenya.

Of the two other escapees, one took part in a failed 2012 terrorist attack on the parliament building, while the other was arrested in 2019 while trying to enlist with the al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab.

The State Department of Correctional Services is set to take disciplinary action against personnel who were on duty when the prison break took place.