'Afande huyu amekata': The last moments of Brian Odhiambo through witnesses' eyes

On January 18, Alex Maina was busy cutting grass in the Nakuru Water Sewerage and Sanitation Company (NAWASSCO) compound near the Lake Nakuru National Park, when he saw Brian Odhiambo, a man he knew, being chased by uniformed officials.

Brian was running for his life, trying to evade arrest by the uniformed KWS officers who were chasing him.

He ran past a ditch, jumped over the fence and managed to make his way outside Lake Nakuru National Park. This was revealed at the Nakuru Court, yesterday (September 1).

In his testimony, Alex, who testified virtually from Nyandarua prison told the court that the officers followed Brian outside the park, and managed to catch up with him.

Alex, who is also serving a sentence for the offence of trespassing into Lake Nakuru National Park, told the court that the rangers started beating him.

“By this time, Brian was already very tired after the running. The KWS officers who were following him caught up with him and they beat him up pretty bad. They carried him inside the park where they undressed him and started beating him up with thafai (stinging nettle). Soon after, they carried him and threw him inside the KWS vehicle like he was a “sack of potatoes”. That was the last time I ever saw Brian,” he narrated to the tense court room.

According to Alex, Brian was dressed in a black adidas short that he usually wore whenever he went fishing.

While all this was happening, Dennis Juma, who is also a fisherman in Barut was apprehended on January 18 while conducting fishing at Lake Nakuru National Park.

He was placed in a boat and transported to Summit resort, a hotel near the Park’s main gate.

“The boat ride from Barut to Summit is not that long and so upon arriving at Summit we alighted. I and ten others who had been arrested were told to lie flat on our stomach,” he says.

Dennis who testified virtually from Nakuru Prison stated, “At that time, a car came and reversed to where we were lying down and the door was opened. I managed to peep inside the vehicle. I saw someone in the car who seemed to be still.”

Dennis told the court that the rangers restricted them from raising their heads and if one was seen then they were immediately beaten.

“I managed to raise my head a few times and there is when I saw a ranger approach the man who was in the vehicle. He tried to communicate to him and tell him to move but the man was unresponsive. I later heard the ranger telling his colleague “afande huyu amekata” (signifying that the man may be dead),” he narrates.

Before open court, an image of Brian was produced and Dennis was able to positively identify him as the man who was unconscious in the vehicle.

“The man who was in the vehicle had a black short that had stripes. It looked like a sporting short, the kind we wear when we go to fish at the Lake,” he adds.

The hearing will proceed on September 8,2025.