Detectives have launched investigations into the escape of a murder suspect from Marimanti police station, Tharaka Nithi county.

Kenneth Mwiti Kiti 33, who had been arrested on November 24 by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), made a dramatic escape from the station on Saturday after he attacked the officer manning the cells.

The officer, Constable Erastus Gikunda said three male suspects requested to be allowed to take a bath in one of the bathrooms within the station.

After the shower, they were returned to the cell and locked up. However, the murder suspect informed Gikunda that he had forgotten the soap in the bathroom.

“He was allowed but when he came back, he refused to enter into the cell and confronted the officer. He overpowered him, jumped over the counter and ran away to an unknown destination,” police said.

A search was conducted but by yesterday evening the suspect had not been traced. Preliminary investigations reveal that the other officer, who was supposed to be on duty with Gikunda, had been assigned other duties by the station commander. The officer, Constable Samuel Mwathe has also been grilled while Constable Gikunda was placed in custody.

Escapes galore

Dozens of suspects facing serious charges have escaped from police custody in the recent past.

In August this year, Nairobi’s Kware serial killer, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha and 12 others escaped from the Gigiri police station, also in unclear circumstances. The then acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli said preliminary investigations indicated that the escape was aided by insiders.

Jumaisi was arrested last month after confessing to killing at least 42 women and dumping their bodies in Kware from 2022 to 2024.

In another case in February this year, the main suspect in the murder of a Kenyan woman in the US, Kevin Kang’ethe Kinyanjui, escaped from Muthaiga police station. Kang’ethe had been arrested on January 29 at Alchemist Club in Westlands Nairobi after being on the run for three months. He is said to have murdered Margaret Mbitu shortly before boarding a 16-hour flight to Nairobi to avoid prosecution. He was later rearrested and extradited.

In May 2022, eight robbery with violence suspects made a dramatic escape from Thika police station cells. Three of the suspects who escaped had in November 2021 carjacked a woman and raped her in turns as they demanded for money from her husband.

The officer on duty said he was called by one of the suspects who requested him to take him to the toilet at around 10pm. According to the officer, as he opened the cells’ door, he was attacked by the suspects who overpowered and forcefully took the key from him.