Business came to a standstill at Kapkwen trading centre in Chepalungu Sub County of Bomet County after residents picketed to protest the killing of a 23 year man on Sunday morning.
Carrying tree branches on the busy Sotik –Bomet –Narok highway, the residents accused the police of laxity, saying the young man was found dead outside one of the shops.
They claimed that their business premises were being broken into every day and people attacked every night despite police officers carrying out patrols at the shopping centre every evening.
“It seems that the police officers just appear in the evenings where they demand bribes from bar owners and disappear,” claimed a resident who was interviewed.
The residents said they had made several reports on insecurity in the area but nothing has been done.
“The chief is aware of our complaints on insecurity but no action has been taken only to wake up to the murder incident,” said Bernard Sang, one of the residents.
They matched to the offices of the shopping centre chairman Mr. John Korir where they read their memoranda demanding the revival of NyumbaKumi security initiative.
The demonstrators who included business community and bodaboda riders said they would engage their own vigilante youth to patrol the town since the police patrols were ineffective.
The suspected murderer, a 19 year old had surrendered herself to the police in Bomet Central police station yesterday morning with the murder tool, a bloodstained knife.
According to Bomet central sub-county commander, Geoffrey Walumbe the suspect Ms. Tabitha Chepkoech walked into the police station at around 7.30 am Sunday morning with a blood stained-knife and claimed that she had just killed her boyfriend Kevin Kiptoo aged 22 at Kapkwen market three kilometres away from Bomet town.
Walumbe said the police took away the knife, recorded the crime in the Occurrence Book (OB) but are yet to take her statement since she is still emotionally unstable.
He said that detectives have been dispatched to the market to investigate the incident and find out whether the girl killed the boy alone or she was in a company of others and also ascertain the motive of the killing.
The body was taken to Longisa County hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
By Joseph Obwocha
