Kericho murders leave residents in shock and grief

Residents of Chepkosilen village in Belgut constituency carry the body of Sarah Sang who was killed by her 25-year-old son Wesley Cheruiyot after she stopped him from leasing out the family land. [Nikko Tanui,Standard]

Kericho residents are now living in fear amid increasing incidences of murder and robbery.

The residents have asked authorities to move swiftly and investigate the recent murders that have left them in shock and grief.

This comes after two people were killed in separate incidents within the county.

In the first incident, a 28-year-old man from Chepkoyo village, Ainamoi Constituency, killed his 57-year-old father and buried the body in a shallow grave outside their compound.

Kericho East Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Caleb Wesa said the man was first reported missing on Saturday only to be found dead.

Zablon Kemei, who had participated in the search of the deceased, said a dog sniffed out the decomposing body and began digging out the shallow grave.

"We first uncovered part of the deceased feet and toes. We immediately alerted the police,” he said.

Wesa said they had obtained orders for the exhumation of the body.

"The exhumation is currently underway. Postmortem would provide us with clues about how the deceased died," said Wesa.

The suspect was pursued by the angry mob and lynched some four kilometres away from the home.

In the second incident, Winny Chepkemoi, a hotelier in Chebown in Belgut Constituency, was killed at dawn allegedly by her estranged lover as she prepared breakfast for her customers.

When The Standard arrived at the scene, off the Kericho -Litein road, the body had been slumped in a chair in the kitchen.

Her throat had been slit, and she had a deep wound in her belly.

According to Rosa Rono, the deceased's landlord, Chepkemoi was killed by her lover after she confiscated a boda-boda she had allegedly bought him.

"Before he came over and killed her, the duo had had another quarrel over some property the man claimed the deceased had taken from him," she said.

Kericho County Police Commander Silas Gichunge said they were looking for the suspect.

In the third incident, Kericho Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS) Osama Mohamed led the police in arresting a most-wanted gangster in the town.

The police recovered 42 rounds of ammunition, a gas cylinder, and other crude weapons from the suspect in his hideout near Kericho Green Stadium.

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