Six KWS officers have case to answer in fisherman Brian Odhiambo's disappearance: Court

The Nakuru Law Courts has ruled that six Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers have a case to answer over their alleged involvement in the disappearance of fisherman Brian Odhiambo.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the six officers, Francis Wachira, Alexander Lorogoi, Isaac Ochieng Odhiambo, Michael Wabukala, Evans Kimaiyo, and Abdulrahaman Ali Sudi, are accused of abducting Odhiambo on January 18, 2025, in Bondeni, Nakuru East Sub-County, with the alleged intent of wrongfully confining him.

The six officers denied the charges before Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion during the court proceedings.

The prosecution team, led by counsel Win Kihumba and Dan Smith Mbalasi, however, presented satisfactory evidence that Odhiambo was arrested during an operation at the Lake Nakuru National Park and later went missing while in the custody of the accused officers.

After reviewing the evidence, the court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to place the officers on their defence.

The case is now scheduled for a defence hearing on June 8, 2026.

The six KWS officers were placed at the scene following submissions made by Chief Inspector Julius Muhuri during a court hearing on November 11, 2025. 

During the hearing, he noted that Odhiambo's phone signals were close to the suspects’ phones at the time he is alleged to have been arrested for trespassing into Lake Nakuru National Park to do illegal fishing.

The Chief Inspector added that KWS rangers never booked the arrest or escape of Odhiambo in their occurrence book. 

“When we analyzed the information, we were able to see they were in close proximity with Brian Odhiambo at around 10:00 hours to 11:00 hours. That was the time Brian Odhiambo was reportedly arrested by the said KWS officers,” Muhuri noted.

“The KWS officers that day never booked any suspect that had escaped from their custody or any incident that they had arrested anyone who had escaped. However, we noted in the remarks column there was an entry that was appended there."