Tension has gripped residents of Mt Elgon Constituency in Bungoma County after the body of chief who had been missing for six days was found buried in a shallow grave.
The mutilated body of Chepyuk Chief Geoffrey Kipsang was discovered on Friday in a maize plantation, about three kilometres from his homestead.
His clothes and phone were found burned beside his body, which was discovered by a resident near St John’s Secondary School in the expansive Chepyuk Settlement Scheme in Kopsiro Sub-County, sending panic, fear and tension among locals who now fear for their security.
Mr Kipsang, a fearless and no nonsense chief popularly known as Michuki by locals for his firm stand while enforcing the law, had been reported to be missing since Sunday last week.
Following his death, irate residents stormed a local illicit brew den and torched houses that they suspected harboured the people who might have killed him.
Fighting illicit liquor
Mr Kipsang, who has served as a chief since the early 1990s, was very instrumental in fighting against illicit liquor, rape, insecurity and teen pregnancies among other bad plaguing the community.
The death of the 57-year-old administrator has rekindled the bad memories of the dreaded Sabaot Land Defence Forces militia which terrorised Mt Elgon residents between 2006 and 2008. The self-styled militant group was vanquished by the Kenyan military and its leader, Wycliffe Matakwei, killed.
Detectives have started investigations into the killing of Chief Kipsang.
Bungoma County Commissioner Samuel Kimiti said that police are perusing crucial leads in a bid to the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime.
Mr Kimiti said that the killing was very heinous and that police are working round the clock to bring the culprits to book.
“We are calling upon members of the public to be calm as police probe the incident,” he said.
Chepyuk Chief Geoffrey Kipsang whose body was discovered on August 27, 2021 in a maize plantation, about three kilometres from his homestead.
Help arrest killers
He called on residents to feel free and share information with police that will lead to the arrest of the killers, promising to keep it confidential.
He said that police are also working with Ugandan security agencies to arrest the killers who could have escaped to the neighbouring country.
When the Nation visited the home of the chief on Saturday, there was a sombre mood, with residents who came to condole the family whispering in low tones.
Speaking to journalists, the widow, Nancy Kipsang, said that she was extremely saddened and in total disbelief following the death of her husband, whom she said loved her and their children very much.
She said that Mr Kipsang left home on Sunday last week after having a meal that she had prepared, saying he was going to look for people who were to plough his land.
“When he left towards the market centre to meet some people who were also to write him a certain official letter, he did not return,” she said.
Mrs Kipsang said that she had been waiting for him to return but this did not happen.
“On Thursday I received a phone call from the area senior mukasa (village elder) saying that my husband could not be found and his phone was off, something that began to trouble me as I began wondering where he could have gone,” she narrated.
Received sad news
She then reported the matter Kopsiro Police Station, where she spent the night with relatives, and the following day she received the news that her husband had been found dead.
Mary Maritati Juma, a Nyumba Kumi official and also the owner of the maize farm where the chief was found murdered, said that she was equally shocked and confused following the bizarre killing.
She said when the incident happened she was not at home as she had gone to Chepkitale to attend a relative’s funeral.
“When I came back on Tuesday I didn’t know what was going on and the following day, someone came to my house and told me that my chief, whom I work with closely as his Nyumba Kumi officer, was missing,” Ms Juma said.
No motorbikes for chiefs
Samuel Sirwa, Mr Kipsang’s brother, said that chiefs in the area have no motorbikes and that the killers might have waylaid him on his way home before killing him.
“I think those people he was arresting while taking illicit brew did not like it and are the ones who might have killed him,” he said.
“As a family, we are humbly calling upon interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Bungoma County Commissioner Samuel Kimiti and all security agencies to ensure justice for our kin by arresting his killers,” he said.
He said that the death was very well planned and executed by people who knew the chief very well.
“My brother was a very strong family pillar and a chief who had served this area very well and all we want is justice so that as a family, we may be able to have peace and live well with other communities here,” he said.
Chepyuk MCA Franklin Simotwo condemned the killing and asked police to speed up investigations and bring the perpetrators to book. BY DAILY NATION