NAKURU, Kenya — The trial of six Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers accused of abducting missing Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo has exposed alleged breaches of procedures governing the arrest, custody and reporting of suspects.
The court heard that officers failed to promptly report Odhiambo’s alleged escape after he was left in the custody of KWS ranger Abdulrahman Ali Sudi on January 18, 2025.
Sudi is alleged to be the last KWS officer seen with Odhiambo before his disappearance.
KWS Officer Admits Delay in Reporting
The issue emerged during testimony by KWS senior investigations officer Edwin Mwasi, who appeared as the final defence witness.
Lawyers Abuya Mogendi and Kipkoech Ng’etich questioned Mwasi over why Sudi allegedly moved around with Odhiambo for several hours without making an entry in the occurrence book (OB).
The lawyers asked how Sudi could have moved around with a suspect without reporting the incident for it to be formally recorded.
Mwasi acknowledged that Odhiambo’s disappearance should have been reported promptly.
“It is expected that the information on Brian’s disappearance should have been relayed as soon as possible,” he told the court.
He said KWS procedures require an occurrence book entry to be made within two or three hours of an incident.
Suspect Was Allegedly Left With One Ranger
The court also heard that Sudi was alone when he was left to guard Odhiambo.
According to the evidence, KWS procedures require at least two officers to be assigned to a suspect in custody.
Operation commander Senior Sergeant Francis Wachira had earlier attributed the decision to staff shortages and the workload facing KWS officers.
“There are numerous activities in the park and the number of rangers present is not sufficient to handle all of them effectively,” Wachira told the court.
He said officers were sometimes forced to divide their duties because of the limited number of personnel available.
Ranger Reported Alleged Escape Hours Later
Wachira also testified that he called Sudi at about 2 pm to establish what had happened to Odhiambo.
According to the evidence, Sudi then reported that the fisherman had escaped following an alleged struggle.
The prosecution has questioned why the alleged disappearance was recorded in the remarks section of the occurrence book after the supervisor had already signed it.
Mwasi, however, told the court that there was no rule expressly prohibiting such an entry.
October Search Report Not Produced
The court further heard that a report arising from a court-sanctioned search conducted in October 2025 had not been made available.
The missing report emerged during questioning of Mwasi as the defence challenged aspects of the investigation and handling of the case.
The evidence has placed scrutiny on the procedures followed by KWS officers before and after Odhiambo’s disappearance.
Six Rangers Face Abduction Charges
The six KWS rangers are accused of abducting Odhiambo with intent to confine him at an unknown place.
Odhiambo, a fisherman from Nakuru, has remained missing since January 18, 2025.
The evidence presented in court includes allegations about the conduct of individual officers, but the claims remain matters for determination by the court.
Parties Given 21 Days to File Submissions
With the defence evidence now concluded, the court has directed the parties to file and serve written submissions within 21 days.
The case will next be mentioned on October 26, when the court is expected to consider the progress of the submissions and give further directions.
