Police in Kerio Valley have finally arrested the prime suspect in the murder of Catholic Priest Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett in Kerio Valley in May 2025.
The suspect was arrested after he shot dead another man using an arrow during a quarrel over clan land in the same Kerio Valley area.
A senior Police officer who led the operation to arrest the suspect confirmed they had finally apprehended the suspect who murdered the priest, so that he can face justice.
Zablon Okoyo, who is the subcounty police commander for Kerio Valley East, confirmed that the prime suspect in the murder had been arrested and was under interrogation.
Okoyo said the suspect had already been arraigned before a magistrate in Iteh town in connection with the killing during the land dispute.
“The DCI are now handling the case and analysing evidence linking him to the murder of the priest, after which a decision on the way forward would be made”, he said.
Okoyo said a file on the murder of the priest had been opened last year and remained active as police looked for suspects involved in the murder.
Father Allois was shot dead on Thursday, May 22, 2025, sparking a national outcry that led to a massive operation in Kerio Valley to hunt down the killers.
He was shot dead by armed men in Tot, Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County, while returning from celebrating Mass in the village of Kabien/Kakbiken.
He served at St. Matthias Mulumba Tot Parish in the Diocese of Eldoret.
His murder sparked national outrage and led to the closure of Catholic missions and Chesongoch Mission Hospital in Kerio Valley due to insecurity.
He was buried on June 3, 2025, at Holy Family Parish, Ol’lessos, Nandi County.
Since the murder of the priests, the security operation in the area has been ongoing, and the government has granted an amnesty to residents illegally holding funds to surrender the weapons.
Within the last one year, more than 500 guns have been surrendered to security forces, and hundreds of reformed bandits have also surrendered.
Sources indicate that the arrested suspect had earlier been among those who surrendered their guns to the police but was being monitored.
