The peaceful village of Samutet in Kericho County was thrown into shock after a horrifying incident in which a young man turned on his own family, leaving three people dead and many others traumatized. At the center of this tragedy was 19-year-old Evans Kiprop, whose actions have raised painful questions about youth crime, family safety, and community response.
According to police reports, Kiprop allegedly launched a brutal attack on his 70-year-old aunt as she went about her household chores. Neighbors say she was well respected and known for her kindness, making the attack all the more bewildering. Hearing her mother’s distress, the aunt’s 28-year-old daughter — herself a mother to a three-month-old baby — rushed to intervene. Unfortunately, she too was chased and hacked to death inside a cowshed.
The violence did not stop there. A three-year-old niece, who is said to have witnessed the initial assault, also became a victim. She was rushed to Kericho County Referral Hospital but doctors could only confirm her death on arrival. The killings left behind a devastated family, a traumatized infant, and a community struggling to make sense of the cruelty.
The suspect did not live to face justice in court. Reports indicate that enraged villagers descended on him after the attacks and lynched him before police arrived. Officers later confirmed that Kiprop had a troubled past and had previously been convicted of a crime that led to his placement in an approved school. While details of his earlier offense remain unclear, his background suggests a long-standing struggle with crime and perhaps deeper underlying issues that went unaddressed.
This tragedy has sparked wider conversations in Kericho and beyond. Many are asking whether communities and authorities are doing enough to monitor and rehabilitate young offenders. Others question whether rural families have adequate access to mental health and social support systems that could help prevent such eruptions of violence.
For now, Samutet village is left to mourn three innocent lives cut short and to reckon with the consequences of mob justice that claimed the suspect’s life. As investigations continue, the case stands as a grim reminder of how quickly violence can unravel families and how urgently society must find ways to protect its most vulnerable members.
