Kapsoya murders: There was cold war between my brother and wife — Ratemo

 Gone too soon: Slain Kids Clifford Nyambane, 6, Taniy Nyamweya, 5 and Glen Ongaki, 3. The chief suspect Enoch Onsane(inset).

Enoch Onsane, the chief suspect in the murder of Eldoret’s three little brothers, lives less than a kilometre away from the home of his elder brother, aspiring MCA, James Ratemo, in Kapsoya area.

Onsane has been arrested and arraigned in court over the murders of Clifford Nyambane, 6, Taniy Nyamweya, 5, and Glen Ongaki, 3.

Ratemo has two wives, Ebby Isaji the mother of the three slain children and Ruth who has three daughters who had gone to Eldoville SDA Church in Eldoret ahead of their brothers on that fateful day.

Isaji works at the Housekeeping department at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret while Ruth is a house wife and helps manage some of the family businesses.

Ratemo admits there is bad blood between his wife and brother which he says started after, “My brother befriended our maid but unfortunately they fell out and he thought my wife had a hand in the disagreement.”

“He (Onsane) is my younger brother from the same parents and there are three sisters between us. We have not been having any personal differences and in fact I paid his high school fees at Armsteve Secondary in Kamukunji and driving school fees,” Ratemo said, adding that Onsanse is an introvert and rarely sustains a conversation, a character they are used to since he was a small child.

“He stays at our parents’ home just a few metres down here and he has been taking care of our younger children and nephews including Johnny who took my children from him that Saturday. He is the one that manages our family property and able to sustain himself from the rent he collects from the family houses,” explains Ratemo.

According to mother of the three slain children, Onsanse was a quiet person who never got over issues easily.

She alleges that he had previously sent her a threatening message which read: “Umepewa muda mdogo sana urudishe mali yetu, wanawake kutoka nje hawatumii hata tone ya mali yetu na usichukulie ni maneno tu (You have little time to return our property, women from outside can never benefit from even a dime of our wealth and these are not mere threats.”

Emmanuel Wafula a neighbour said, “Onsane is always on his phone and rarely greets people, whether family or friends, he usually minds his business but whenever he says no to a particular issue, he would not easily change his mind.”