Three men who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Prison in November 2021, and another accused of aiding them, will begin their defence on August 19 this year.

This follows directions issued on Tuesday by Kahawa Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage.

The magistrate had on May 16 ruled that Musharaf Abdalla, Joseph Juma Odhiambo, Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Abdulmajid Yassin have a case to answer.

Abdalla, Odhiambo and Abikar were charged with one terrorism-related count and another for escaping from prison.

They pleaded guilty to escaping from the facility but denied the charge of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

Yassin was charged with aiding their escape and pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Kiage said the prosecution, led by James Machira, had presented sufficient evidence linking the four to the crime.

Abdalla, Odhiambo and Abikar were charged with committing a terrorist act and escaping from lawful custody, while Yassin was charged with aiding their escape.

“I am persuaded that a prima facie case has been established to merit putting them on their defence,” said Magistrate Kiage in reference to Abdalla, Odhiambo and Abikar.

He added that the prosecution had proved the charge against Yassin and therefore placed him on his defence as well.

Abdalla, Odhiambo and Abikar escaped from the facility after digging a hole on November 15, 2021.

The three had allegedly planned the escape for 12 months. After digging the hole, they built a makeshift ladder using ropes, clothes, broomsticks and sheets to scale the wall on their way out.

Yassin, their cellmate, had a disability that prevented him from joining them in the escape.

Following the breakout, then-Prisons Commissioner-General Wycliffe Ogallo was arrested alongside wardens who had been on duty at the time.

Abdalla, Odhiambo and Abikar were free for less than a week before being recaptured in Endau village, around 100 kilometres from Kitui town.

Police said the three were caught after one of them went to buy water, bread and milk while they were en route to Boni Forest.

They aroused suspicion among locals when they asked for directions to Tana River, Garissa and Lamu counties—areas suspected to be linked to Al-Shabaab terror cells in Kenya.

Abdalla was arrested in 2012 in possession of firearms and over a plot to attack Parliament buildings. He was convicted in 2017 and jailed for 22 years.

Odhiambo was arrested in 2019 at the Kenya–Somalia border for attempting to cross over to join the Al-Shabaab terror group. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Abikar was convicted for his role in the April 2015 Al-Shabaab attack on Garissa University that left at least 148 people—most of them students—dead. He was sentenced to 41 years.

Yassin was arrested in 2012 alongside Omar Abdi in Eastleigh, where they were found with several weapons, including firearms, grenades and suicide vests.

When arraigned in court, he pleaded guilty to all nine terrorism-related charges, including admitting to being a member of Al-Shabaab.