Court orders arrest of key murder suspect in kidnapping hearings

The High Court in Eldoret has issued a warrant of arrest against one of the key suspects in the murder of Presidential Communication Service Press Secretary Emmanuel Talam's father.

Justice Robert Wananda directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigation officers in Nandi East to arrest Silas Too.

The order came after Prosecutor Emmah Ng'ok told the court the accused had skipped court for the second consecutive time.

"I ask the court to formally issue a warrant of arrest against the accused person Silas Too, who has absconded court two times without explanation," Ng'ok told the court.

Too's lawyer Lucy Ndambuki told the court that her efforts to reach her client through both his mobile lines proved futile. She further said she was concerned about his whereabouts.

Too is charged alongside his mother Dorcas Chelagat and Hillary Korir with the killing of businessman Benjamin Koech five years ago.

Murder charges

The trio, who are out on bond, have denied the murder charges. The three are accused of committing the offence on April 14, 2018, at Chetingting village in Nandi County.

The deceased was a prominent businessman in Nandi Hills and had gone missing, only for his body to be found floating in River Kipsigei.

He is said to have been attacked while heading home from Simbi shopping centre. A post-mortem report revealed that he was hit with a blunt object.

On Thursday, Justice Wananda ordered that the first accused, who failed to turn up in court citing health issues, to table in court proper medical records when the matter comes up in July.

The State Counsel told the court that Dorcas Chelagat had sent an undated report from a public hospital and which had not been stamped to show that it is a genuine document.

The deceased's widow Monicah Koech told the court that her husband's trousers, safari boots and a shirt were recovered inside Chelagat's house.

She said her husband had mentioned the suspect's name to her as a long-time customer at his shop.

Regular customers

"It was a shock to me and I could not believe it. I wondered what could have happened. I have never seen nor met Chelagat. It's the first time I'm seeing her. My husband had told me that she was one of his regular customers," Monicah testified.

She recounted that on the material day, she had tried calling her husband, but his phone was switched off.

"I tried to call his mobile phone, but it was off. It worried me because it was unusual for his phone to be switched off," she continued.

Another witness, Peter Kiplimo, corroborated her story, explaining that they recovered Koech's body from the river and found a phone and a rosary in his pockets.

Kiplimo stated that they called police officers from O'lessos police station to inform them of the dumped body.

The case will be mentioned on July 10.