In response to the murder of a General Service Unit officer in the region, residents of Mutaragon in Kipkelion West, Kericho County, staged protests and set fire to property.
The recently graduated GSU officer passed away from his wounds after a physical struggle with a local bar employee.
According to witnesses, the GSU officer was taken to the hospital after sustaining a potentially lethal cut during the altercation. After being moved to another hospital in Kericho, he passed away from his wounds.
Residents of Mutaragon went into a frenzy after learning of the young officer’s passing, destroying anything connected to the proprietor of the doomed pub.
In what appeared to be a reprisal, the locals set fire to the owner’s pub and a nearby school, setting some other homes on fire in the process.
After the fire destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of items and assets, one family is now assessing their losses.
One survivor described how the fire spread from the school to their home, destroying their entire home. I attempted to put it out, but I was chased away by irate onlookers.
The dejected victim said that her produce, a motorcycle, and at least Ksh100,000 that she had in her home were destroyed by the fire.
Hours after the GSU officer, known as Ezekiel Bett, passed away from his wounds, damage had already been done when officials arrived to bring peace back to the region.
Investigations into the event have now resulted in the arrest of Bett’s attacker and the pub owner.
