A renowned Catholic priest lost his life after he was shot by assailants in a harrowing ambush on Thursday, May 22.
Father Alloyce Cheruiyot Bett was targeted by the assailants in the Tot area of Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet, with reports indicating he was heading back to his base after a sermon.
According to witnesses, the assailants sprayed the priest with bullets moments after he concluded a Jumuiya (small Christian community) mass in Kakbiken village.
The attackers fired four bullets, three of which missed the priest and another individual in his company. One bullet, however, struck the priest in the neck, killing him.
The National Police Service has since issued a statement on the priest's death, saying that six suspects have been apprehended in connection with the killing.
The NPS also called on locals with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects to come forward.
"General Service Unit officers responded swiftly and established that Father Bett was accosted and fatally shot by armed assailants. A manhunt was immediately launched, and six suspects have since been arrested and are currently in custody," the NPS's statement read.
"NPS condemns this heinous act and is committed to conducting thorough and expeditious investigations to apprehend all those involved in the crime
While there were suggestions that the priest may have been targeted by bandits, NPS spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga clarified that the attack was in no way related to cattle rustling or banditry.
The priest's death also prompted Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich to cut short his engagements in Sambirir Ward. The governor had officiated the establishment of the Kerio Valley Agricultural Training Centre in Kaptora and was expected to proceed to Sekon ECD Centre before news of the priest’s shooting reached him.
Notably, Father Alloyce was the second priest to lose his life this week, with his killing coming days after Catholic priest John Maina, who was found murdered just days after hosting former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Maina, a Catholic priest from Igwamiti Parish in Nyahururu, was discovered along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway by a Good Samaritan, a motorcycle rider, near the Diotomite stage, with bruises on the left side of his head, on May 15. He told the boda boda rider that he had been abducted from Nyahururu.
Meanwhile, the issue of banditry continues to be a pain for Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who recently outlined the progress in fighting the vice in the first quarter of 2025.
Murkomen noted that the number of banditry and stock theft cases had decreased during this period, with only 167 cases of stock theft compared to 263 cases in the same period last year. Additionally, a total of 4,935 livestock were stolen, compared to 8,557 during the same period in 2024.
Among the challenges he listed in the fight against banditry was the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, closely followed by the commercialisation of banditry through readily available markets for stolen livestock. He also highlighted political interference and incitement as among the challenges impeding this fight.
