MCA, two others held overnight as detectives probe Trans Mara killings

Detectives have applied to detain Lolgorian ward MCA Michael Seme and two other suspects for 21 days as investigations into the deadly Trans Mara clashes continue. 

Seme, alongside Peter Kiplangat and Neke Siteti, was yesterday arraigned before a Nakuru court on a miscellaneous application filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). 

The three will spend the night in police custody pending a ruling on the application. 

In court papers, detectives said they intend to revisit, process and document several scenes of murder, arson and stock theft in Ang’ata Barikoi and Lolgorian wards. 

“We also want to trace and record statements from victims of arson attacks, murders, assaults and stock theft,” read the application in part. 

The DCI in the application revealed that ten people have been killed and over 100 torched. 

The DCI said investigators intend to obtain medical records and postmortem reports of victims from hospitals in Narok, Migori, Kisii and Homa Bay counties, where some of the injured were treated. 

“We also seek to trace and recover firearms used in committing murders and subject them to forensic examination,” the detectives stated. 

They further told the court that they intend to obtain exhumation orders to allow the body of one victim to be exhumed for a postmortem examination, and to investigate the financial records of the suspects. 

“The nature of the investigations is complex and requires adequate time,” the DCI argued before Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet. 

However, lawyers representing the three suspects opposed the application, saying their clients were not flight risks and were willing to comply with any bond conditions set by the court. They also argued that the suspects would not interfere with witnesses or ongoing investigations. 

Meanwhile, Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia confirmed several suspects including a police officer have been arrested in connection with the clashes. 

“Several of these suspects were arrested for interrogation and possible prosecution for being behind the clashes, while others are linked to rampant livestock theft that has triggered the fighting,” Lotiatia said during a press briefing in Narok town. 

He said an operation to mop up illegal firearms is ongoing and warned residents in the affected areas to surrender illegal guns immediately or face legal action. 

Lotiatia urged the two communities to coexist peacefully and warned politicians and individuals against inciting or financing violence. 

He said the situation in Ang’ata Barikoi remains tense and volatile, noting that at least seven people have been killed and there has been widespread destruction following clashes between two neighbouring communities. 

“We are going to detain all inciters, financiers and criminals, regardless of their status in society, and take them to court. Some have already been detained,” he said. 

Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno has also called for the immediate disarmament of civilians following the violence along the border of Lolgorian and Ang’ata Barikoi wards. 

Ngeno urged security agencies to mop up illegal firearms and to subject holders of licensed guns to fresh vetting to prevent weapons from being used to fuel communal violence. 

As a result of the clashes, more than 1,800 residents have been displaced and at least 253 houses razed, in what locals describe as coordinated attacks. 

The Trans Mara South clashes are rooted in long-standing land disputes, livestock theft and local tensions that have periodically erupted into violence, leading to loss of life, displacement and destruction of property. 

In response, the government has deployed heavy police and security personnel to restore calm, with operations including patrols, roadblocks and heightened surveillance. 

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has described Trans Mara South as a dangerous and disturbed area, warning that the government will not tolerate lawlessness and vowing firm action against those inciting or sponsoring violence. 

Authorities say investigations are ongoing and that more arrests could follow as security agencies move to stabilize the region. 

Areas including Oldonyo Orok, Siteti, Ololoma, Corner, Ratiki, Isokon, Kerinkani, Kondamet, Olkiloriti, Ang’ata Barikoi, Kapkeres, Lolgorian town, Mashangwa and Sachangwan are currently under a dusk-to-dawn curfew. 

The Kenya Red Cross said clashes in Ang’ata Barikoi have displaced more than 1,800 people in just three days, with homes torched and families forced to flee.