An Anglican priest, Rev. James Kemei, 43, was brutally murdered in Kapsabet town, Nandi, by a KDF officer who found him in bed with his wife.
Rev. Kemei had visited the woman, a lay reader at St. Barnabas Church in Kapsabet, unaware that her husband had set a trap for him.
The military officer arrived at his matrimonial home that night, sneaked into the house in Cheplengu village near Mother Fransca Hospital, and hid in one of the rooms without his wife or her lover knowing. He had been tipped off that the priest was frequently staying over.
The officer waited stealthily for the two to go to bed. He then emerged from hiding and attacked them, immobilizing the priest.
The enraged officer then assaulted his wife, fracturing her hand, and inflicted severe injuries on the clergyman, including hammering nails into his spine.
Neighbours reported that the officer forced his wife to watch as he brutally mutilated her lover, cutting off his genitals.
An anonymous caller alerted the police to the violence around 3 am on Thursday morning, according to Nandi police commander Dickens Njogu.
“It was only this morning when St. Barnabas Pro-Cathedral Provost Rev. Nillah Bassy came to make a formal report of the unfortunate incident that police officers moved in,” Njogu said.
Neighbors rushed Rev. Kemei to Kapsabet Level 5 Hospital in critical condition. He was later referred to Eldoret, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival at Top Hill Hospital.
The KDF officer fled after the incident, and the police have reported the matter to his superiors.
The critically injured wife also disappeared, likely seeking medical treatment at a private hospital, and has not reported to the police.
“We have very scant details on the incident and DCI has taken over the investigation,” Njogu added.
Rev. Kemei, originally from Simat in the Uasin Gishu area, had recently been transferred to Sang’alo parish in Mosop East but continued living in Kapsabet, commuting daily to Sang’alo, about 30 km away.
Efforts to get a comment from ACK Bishop of Kapsabet Paul Korir were unsuccessful.
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