Six Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers were on Monday arraigned before a Nakuru court to face charges in connection with the abduction of a fisherman, Brian Odhiambo, who went missing in January near Lake Nakuru National Park.
The officers — Francis Gachoki, Alexander Lorogoi, Isaac Wabukala, Michael Kimaiyo, Evans Kipsang, and Abdulrahman Ali Sudi — appeared before Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibellion and pleaded not guilty to one count of abduction with intent to confine.
The charge relates to the alleged abduction of Odhiambo on January 18 in Nakuru’s Bondeni area.
The prosecution alleges that the six officers unlawfully abducted Odhiambo with the intent of secretly and wrongfully detaining him.
The case comes two months after the Nakuru High Court dismissed a petition seeking to compel the Kenya Wildlife Service to produce the missing fisherman, whose whereabouts remain unknown nearly three months after his disappearance.
In court, Magistrate Kibellion ordered the suspects to be remanded at the Nakuru GK Prison pending a ruling on their bail application, which is expected in seven days.
The case has stirred public concern, particularly after KWS initially stated that its officers had arrested an unidentified man who later escaped before they could take down his details.
Odhiambo’s family has since maintained that he was last seen inside the park and has filed an affidavit alleging intimidation and attempts to coerce them into withdrawing from the case.
The arraignment marks a significant development in a case that has cast a spotlight on alleged misconduct within the wildlife protection agency and raised questions about accountability and human rights within Kenya’s protected areas.
