• The governor and the MP said residents who were present during the shooting were ready to give evidence as witnesses.
• The governor and other leaders in the county have asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help resolve the land row.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
The Independent Police Oversight Authority is investigating the killing of two people in a confrontation over land between KDF officers, police and the local community at Chebarus near Moi Barracks.
A team from IPOA visited the disputed Kiplombe Nine Farms land, which borders the barracks where two people were shot dead and three others seriously injured on Christmas Day.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago and Turbo MP Janet Kosgey were present during the visit.
IPOA officers recovered live bullets and spent cartridges from the area where the shooting occurred.
The IPOA officials declined to comment on the matter during the visit at the farm.
“We are happy that IPOA has moved fast to probe this issue, which has caused panic and concern among our people,” Mandago said.
The governor and the MP said residents who were present during the shooting were ready to give evidence as witnesses.
Mandago said they want the witnesses put under protection by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, claiming they were being intimidated and threatened by officers involved in the shooting.
The governor and other leaders in the county have asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help resolve the land row.
Mandago on Tuesday said the dispute over the Kiplombe Nine Farms, which measures more than 5,339 acres, was turning ugly. He said the KDF want to take over the land from more than 1,000 families who had lived in the area for more than 50 years.
“We demand that as Commander-in-Chief he should condemn the killings and cause an audit to be done of the KDF officers involved in frustrating the community with complete disregard to the law,” Mandago said.
He said they want the President to stop illegal intimidation, arrests and detentions of civilians who live on the land.
“We also demand an identification parade of the KDF and Kenya Ordinance Factories Corporation (KOFC) involved in the incident that led to the killing,” Mandago said.
The governor said they had written to all relevant authorities on the matter and demanded that KDF, the National Land Commission and the Survey department also be held liable for the killings and injuries caused during the incident.
A situation report from the Soy police station said Sgt Mark Ronoh of Soy police station reported at around 11.30hrs on Saturday that he was in the company of Kenya Defence Force's officers from the Kenya Ordinance Factory, who have been conducting survey on their land occupied by members of the public since December 23, 2021.
The exercise started in Kebeswet, Jerusalem and Tanzania areas and on Saturday, the team went to Chebarus in Kiplombe location in Turbo subcounty, where they met resistance from residents who occupy the land.
The KDF officers, who were accompanied by police officers from Soy said they tried to talk to residents not to interfere with the exercise but it fell on deaf ears.
The OB report at the Soy police station further indicated that the resident came to Chebarus primary school where the main beacon is, and closed the gate of the school. They then started pelting the officers with stones.
“The Commanding Officer, Kenya Ordinance Factory, went to the scene and tried to talk to the residents but they were not ready to listen to him,” the report said.
Another reinforcement came from 9KR Moi barracks and the officers had to use force to leave the school compound where they were held at around 4pm.
The police officers from Soy police station used tear gas to disperse the residents. The ammunition expended by the KDF officers is yet to be established.
According to the report, there were two fatalities— Joel Kibet Keter, 53, who had a bullet wound on the left thigh and Eliud Menjo, 47, who had a bullet through the mouth which exited on the back of the head.
Those injured were identified as Joan Chepchirchir, 19, who sustained a bullet wound in the stomach and Edwin Kiplimo, 20, who was shot in the leg.
The third injured person was Kennedy Kiptarus, 20, who was injured in the head by a blunt object.
Edited by A.N