How man jailed for killing his girlfriend escaped from Kamiti Prison

A convict serving a six-year jail term for killing his girlfriend over infidelity has pleaded guilty to jailbreak, telling the court that he tried to escape after learning that his wife was pregnant by another man.

Evans Ranny Makaka, who was jailed on April 27, 2021 for manslaughter, told Senior Principal Magistrate Helen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts during mitigation that a friend had recently informed him that his wife was pregnant, which left him depressed.

Makaka, 31, was charged with escaping from lawful custody after he attempted to escape from Kamiti Prison on November 8 while in the custody of Sergeant Patrick Muthini.

Makaka escaped while working with other inmates in the prison's nursery under the supervision of Sergeant Muthini. He excused himself to go for a short call and then disappeared at around 11am while still in prison uniform.

Prison officers searched the area and he was found hiding in nearby bushes by Prison Officer Boniface Mweu. The convict had by then removed the blue and white striped trousers worn by inmates. When cornered, Makaka became violent and PC Mweu fired in the air to scare him.

He was immediately taken to Kahawa West Police Station where he was detained before being charged.

Admitting the charges, Makaka told Ms Okwani that he had been experiencing challenges and was finding it difficult to report to the prison welfare department.

Attempted jailbreak

He said his wife did not allow him to speak to his child.

The welfare department allows inmates to call home to communicate with their families, but his wife has told him that the child is his grandmother's home.

Makaka said he was remorseful and apologised to Sergeant Muthini for almost ruining his career in the Kenya Prisons Service.

The convict told Ms Okwani that he now has less than two years left to serve on his sentence and the magistrate sentenced him to an additional two years for the attempted jailbreak.

Makaka had been jailed by Justice Jessie Lessit following a plea bargain in which he admitted killing Esther Njeri at his home in Umoja estate, Nairobi, on the night or early morning of May 30 and 31, 2019. 

He had returned home after midnight and met a man walking down the stairs of the flat. When he arrived at his house, he found Njeri locking the door to leave.

Njeri, who had just turned 18, then told Makaka that she was escorting a man who had just delivered the waiting card for her national identity (ID) card.

Manslaughter

She left and then returned, at which point Makaka took her phone to check who she was communicating with and a fight ensued. Makaka hit Njeri with his hand. She fell and hit her head on a table and lost consciousness.

The convict then wrote a note accusing his lover of infidelity and left the house, leaving Njeri unconscious on the floor.

Njeri's body was discovered by neighbours two days later and the matter was reported to the police.

On June 3, 2019, Makaka turned himself in at Buru Buru police station and was arrested and charged with murder.

However, he applied for a plea bargain with the prosecution, offering to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter before being sent to prison.

Njeri's mother told officers from the Probation and Aftercare Services Department that her daughter was preparing to travel overseas for further studies at the time of her death.