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One of the most comical jailbreaks was documented in the No Picnic on Mt Kenya novel authored by Italian Felice Benuzzi, a Prison of War (POW) in Nanyuki.
In January 1943, Benuzzi and two fellow prisoners Dr. Giovanni Balletto and Vincenzo Arsotti escaped from the Prison of War Camp 354. The three POWs then went on a three-week adventure on the famous mountain before walking back into the prison to the bewilderment of prison authorities.
Arsotti sailor fell sick at the base of the mountain but Benuzzi and Balletto soldiered on for 17 more days, reaching a point at about 5000 meters on the North West ridge. They even planted an Italian flag on the mountain.
So amazed was the camp's British commandant when the three Prison of Wars leisurely strolled back into the camp on February 10. He was so impressed that he reduced their month long solitary confinement to a mere week, a nod to the daring act.
