Charles Ouma Ochieng, a soft-spoken man from Nambale in Busia County, has lived through an experience that still feels surreal, one that turned a simple mistake into nearly a decade behind bars. Busia Man Shares How “Simple” ID Card Mistake Cost Him 8 Years in Prison Born to a Ugandan mother and a Kenyan father, Charles told Itugi TV that he grew up straddling two worlds. Life in his village was tough, and like many young men searching for a better future, he moved to Nairobi in pursuit of work. But fate would take a darker turn. One day, Charles stumbled upon a lost identity card. For reasons he himself cannot explain, he picked it up and kept it. “A friend warned me against keeping it, but I ignored the advice,” he says now, his voice heavy with regret. Months later, driven by curiosity about his maternal roots, he decided to visit Uganda. But when he got to the border, his life changed forever. Border officials demanded a passport, which he did not have.
A search revealed that he was carrying two ID cards: his own and the one he had found. “That was the beginning of my trouble,” Charles recalls. Within hours, he was locked up in a cell. The next day, he stood before a court and admitted to the charges. What followed was a sentence that shocked him: eight years in prison. The court accused him of possessing someone else’s ID and attempting to cross the border without valid travel documents. With bail set at KSh 800,000, far beyond his reach, and his appeal dismissed, Charles resigned himself to his fate. “At first it was difficult because I struggled to accept what had happened, but once I made peace with my situation, prison life became bearable,” he says. Subscribe to watch new videos Charles’s story is one of youthful misjudgment, tough justice, and the resilience of the human spirit. It is also a cautionary tale to others about the dangers of seemingly small mistakes. Now a free man, he carries both the pain of lost years and the hope of a second chance. “I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I went through,” he says, urging young people to heed advice and make wiser choices.
by Tuko news
