Nanyuki Man Emotionally Sings Gospel Song, Prays During Release From Prison After 25 Years

• After 25 years, Simon Lokwachelia was freed from Rumuruti GK Prison, where he was jailed due to a mistaken association with a stolen car
• Lokwachella's life took a tragic turn when he unknowingly rode in a stolen car, leading to a quarter-century prison sentence for robbery with violence
• Lokwachella emerged resilient with a mechanical engineering degree and prison authorities highlighted the importance of supporting ex-convicts' reintegration into society

A happy Simon Lokwachelia could not help but break into song after the gates of Rumuruti GK Prison swung open for him for the first time in 25 years.

Lokwachelia goes to visit his girlfriend

Citizen Digital reports that the prison had been Lokwachelia's home for a quarter century after a Nanyuki court found him guilty of five counts of robbery with violence.

According to Lokwachella, he had gone to visit his girlfriend at her home in Rumuruti, but on arrival, her mum informed him she had gone to visit her uncle in Subukia.

The smitten man hitched a ride with a friend and followed his lover there. That was the beginning of his woes as it turned out that the car had been stolen in Nanyuki.

"It was a pickup car with two occupants; I knew one passenger and when he offered me a lift, I quickly agreed," he said.

Dramatic arrest at Subukia

"We stopped at a petrol station in Subukia and the two asked me to wait for them in the car as they rushed somewhere else. As I waited, I was ambushed by police officers with guns; officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (now Directorate of Criminal Investigations) had been trailing the car from Nanyuki," he explained.

Lokwechella was arrested and on April 13, 2000, the Nanyuki Senior Resident Magistrate S.M. Kibunja found Lokwachwelia guilty of robbery with violence charges and he has since been behind bars seeking to appeal the judgment.

At 49 years old, Lokwachelia finally walked out of prison after successfully battling appeals to have his sentence reviewed.

How did Lokwachelia obtain freedom?

He had been battling court cases until 2019, when his appeals were heard before Justice H.P.B Waweru. The latter substituted the sentences from death row to a jail term of 35 years for the five counts and the sentences were to run concurrently from the time of his sentencing under section 296 (2) of the Penal Code.

Lokwachelia came out a strong man with a Grade-1 Mechanical engineering craft. At their home in Kinamba-Sosian village in Laikipia Sunday, Lokwechelia could not hide his joy after stepping out of Rumuruti GK Prison. He notices that so much has changed since then.

The Prison’s Deputy Officer in charge, Senior Superintendent of Prisons (SSP) Justus Akhanyinya, called on the local community not to abandon and stigmatize their convicted relatives.

He said the public should not discriminate against ex-convicts but help them reconnect with their families once they are set free.

Man wrongfully sentenced to 400 years

Elsewhere, Sidney Holmes was exonerated and freed from prison after 34 years and said he does not harbour any hate.

Sidney Holmes was convicted in April 1989 and sentenced to 400 years in jail so he would not come out alive.

According to ABC reports, a new probe revealed he was wrongfully identified in a line-up and linked to the wrong car.