By Dorothy Musyoka
In a dramatic turn of events, Stanley Cheruiyot, a man convicted of defilement and serving a life sentence at Nakuru GK prison, was recaptured just a day after his bold escape.
Cheruiyot’s short-lived taste of freedom ended thanks to the vigilance of Molo town dwellers, who promptly turned him into the authorities. The circumstances surrounding Cheruiyot’s escape are still under investigation.
“It remains unclear how Stanley Cheruiyot got his arm dislocated so bad to require an urgent operation at the Nakuru Level 5 hospital, but after the escape, prison wardens who are probing the matter aren’t overlooking the possibility him having arm-twisted himself to obtain a ticket out of the high walls,” stated the detectives.
According to Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers, while being processed for surgery on Monday morning, Cheruiyot astonishingly managed to free himself from the cuffs securing him to his hospital bed. His sudden disappearance left the hospital staff and his keepers in a state of disbelief.
“While being processed for the operation Monday morning, the malefactor managed to master the cuffs tied to his hospital bed, vanishing into thin air to the bewilderment of his keepers,” noted DCI
Cheruiyot’s freedom was fleeting, however. Later that evening, residents of the Keepleft area in Molo, Nakuru County, noticed a suspicious individual. The man, with handcuffs conspicuously tucked at his waist, did not fit the profile of a police officer. Sensing something was amiss, the concerned citizens reported him to the authorities.
But Cheruiyot’s taste of liberty was short-lived as he was arrested later in the evening in the Keepleft area of Molo in Nakuru County, after members of the public sighted a man who by no means looked like a police officer with a pair of handcuffs tucked at the waist, 3 o’clock position.
Responding swiftly to the tip-off, officers from Molo Sub-County arrested Cheruiyot. During the arrest, the officers recovered several items from his backpack, including the handcuffs, an itel phone a pair of inmate uniforms, and County hospital records
“On getting the information, officers from Molo Sub-County swiftly arrested the suspect, and from him recovered the cuffs, an itel phone (mulika mwizi) a pair of inmates’ uniforms and the County hospital records from his backpack,” stated DCI.
Cheruiyot has since been returned to Nakuru GK prison, where he faces additional charges for escaping from lawful custody.