Fight over blanket leaves man dead, woman arrested

Detectives launch investigations at Kapchumba in Turbo Sub-County after a domestic altercation between former lovers ended in tragedy.

Police in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, are holding a middle-aged woman for allegedly stabbing her estranged boyfriend to death following a domestic quarrel.

The suspect, identified as Salome Cheptoo, is said to have stabbed the deceased, only identified as Moses, using a kitchen knife at her thatched one-bedroom house.

Preliminary reports indicate that the two quarrelled over a blanket before the incident turned fatal.

It is alleged that the deceased had visited the suspect’s house to collect the blanket, which he had bought as a gift.

After their relationship turned sour and was marred by frequent disagreements, the deceased reportedly became angry and went to reclaim the blanket before he met his death.

Police said the incident occurred at about 8pm on Wednesday at Kapchumba area in Turbo Sub-County, about two kilometres from Baharini Police Station.

Uasin Gishu County Directorate of Criminal Investigations Commander Daniel Muleli, who was accompanied by Turbo acting OCPD Zaphania Kamuren, confirmed the incident, saying police were holding the suspect as investigations continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the murder.

Speaking to the media at the police station, Muleli said the body of the deceased, who worked at construction sites on the outskirts of Eldoret City, was being preserved at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.

He said the 44-year-old suspect, a mother of three, would be arraigned in court once preliminary investigations are complete.

Ruth Cheptoo, the suspect’s younger sister, said her sister had been experiencing frequent domestic disputes with her boyfriend since last year.

“I think my sister might have taken something else because she was not normal as usual. We know the two have been having frequent squabbles leading to vicious fights, and our efforts to resolve their domestic problems have borne no fruits at all,” she said.

Ms Cheptoo said that before the incident, her sister had arrived at her home in the company of the deceased while drunk, went to the grave of their late mother and made strange chants related to murder.

She added that her sister had been demanding additional land from the family apart from what she had previously been allocated following the death of their parents.