Five arrested over murder of two Baringo politicians

They are being held at Kabarnet Police Station after investigators swore an affidavit requesting the courts to allow them between seven and 14 days to hold them as investigations continue before they are charged.PHOTO:COURTESY

Five people have been arrested in connection with the killing of two Baringo politicians.

They are being held at Kabarnet Police Station after investigators swore an affidavit requesting the courts to allow them between seven and 14 days to hold them as investigations continue before they are charged.

The two politicians, Tiaty parliamentary aspirant Symon Pepee Kitambaa and Loyamorok Ward MCA Frederick Kibet Cheretei, were killed three weeks ago.

Mr Kitambaa and Mr Cheretei were attacked by hooded men on the night of February 17 at T-junction Bar and Restaurant in Marigat as they spoke with five other people.

Pepee was seeking a Jubilee Party ticket to contest the area's parliamentary seat currently held by Asman Kamama.

In the affidavits that The Standard has seen, the investigators have detailed the role each of the five played in the killing of the politicians.

A former bodyguard of a politician is, according to an affidavit sworn by Sergeant Tobias Mwita from DCI headquarters, alleged to have planned the killings.

He is alleged to have worked together with one of those arrested, who is an aspirant in the August 8 polls.

The affidavit also details who among those arrested owned the firearm allegedly used to commit the murders.

Police, who responded to the incident on the morning of February 18, found five AK-47 spent cartridges at the scene, which were collected for ballistics analysis.

The Standard has established that the suspect is alleged to have contracted a boda boda rider and paid him Sh6,000 to ferry the gun from Akwichatis to Loruk.

An affidavit sworn by police constable Zebedeyo Wawire also cites who ferried the suspects to the scene of the crime and who among them pulled the trigger.

Two hooded men stormed the shed where Kitambaa and Cheretei were meeting with five others and shot them dead before burning a vehicle belonging to the MCA and vandalising Kitambaa's car.

They also snatched a yellow paper bag whose contents the police have not divulged.

The killing of the two politicians led to tension between members of the Pokot community and the Tugen, who live in the vast county, with attacks being witnessed in parts of Baringo North and Baringo South.

In the two weeks of mayhem, nine people were killed and hundreds of others fled their homes.

This led to Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery gazetting 19 locations in Baringo South and Tiaty as "disturbed and dangerous", paving the way for the ongoing police operation in the region.

At the same time, police have arrested two people at Nga'ratuko in Baringo North suspected of spying on the camps of police officers in the area to flush out bandits.