AFRICA/KENYA - Two people linked to the murder of Father Bett murdered in mysterious circumstances

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – The mystery surrounding the murder of Father Alloyce Cheruiyot Bett, the priest shot dead in the Tot area of Elgeyo Marakwet, in the Kerio Valley, on the Western Highlands of Kenya, is intensifying (see Fides, 23/5/2025). On June 3, the lifeless bodies of two men suspected of involvement in the priest's murder were found on the Mogotio-Kiptuno road in Nakuru County.
Their families, who had reported them missing on May 30, claim that the murders are directly linked to that of Father Bett. According to their families, the two men - Simon Yego, 45, and Collins Kipyatich, 22 - were kidnapped within hours of each other on the same day, in their village of Tot, where the priest was murdered on May 22.
Collins was the first to be kidnapped, while undergoing a routine checkup at the Tot Health Center. The families of both men filed a complaint at the Tot police station the day after their disappearance.
Their mutilated bodies were found in the village of Sawin, in Rungai sub-county, more than 200 kilometers from where they were abducted. In Kenya, the number of kidnappings and extrajudicial killings attributed to security forces is increasing, to the point that several bishops have intervened on the matter. "The government and the security apparatus should put an end to the kidnapping of our young people," declared Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe of Kakamega at the beginning of the year (see Fides, 8/1/2025). Regarding the murder of Father Bett, which occurred in the Kerio Valley, the Bishop of Eldoret had already launched an appeal in April to address the serious security situation in the area, where at least ten people, including two police officers, had been killed in banditry attacks in the previous two months (see Fides, 16/4/2025). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 4/6/2025)

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