Angry protesters blocked the Eldoret-Kitale road for the better part of Tuesday following the brutal killing of a female student who was studying at Vera Beauty College in Eldoret town on Monday night.
Police had a hard time trying to restore order as the protesters engaged them in running battles.
The demonstrators barricaded the road for hours and lit bon-fires disrupting transport.
Motorists had a hard time as the protestors threw stones police officers who were attempting open the road.
MUTILATED BODY
The officer lobbed tear gas canisters at crowds that had blocked the road at several points and also fired in the air in a bid to restore normalcy.
The mutilated body of Emma Wanyotta was discovered lying in a pool of blood in a farm next to their house on Monday night.
She was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend whom the residents have described as a notorious criminal.
According to Sheila Wanyotta, who is the victim’s eldest sister, they got suspicious when Emma failed to return home in the evening as expected.
"When mum got home at 6pm she could not find her. Everything was in a mess in the house, an indication there was a struggle in there. There was blood flowing from her room and her phone wasn't going through so she went to the police station to report," said Ms Wanyotta
She said that after a long search, they later found the mutilated body of her sister in a farm near their home.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED
Ms Wanyotta disclosed that the suspect, identified only as Mustafa, is a well-known carpenter in Moi’s Bridge.
She said her sister had terminated a relationship with the man last August.
“He is the carpenter who made my mum's and my brother's furniture here at our home," said Ms Wanyota.
"After parting ways with my sister in August, he has been threatening her and also all the male contacts in her phonebook," she added.
The man is said to be out on bond after he was arrested and charged with murder in Mombasa last year.
NOTORIOUS CRIMINAL
"This suspect is a notorious criminal. Back in 2014 he killed a lady in Mombasa and he went scot free. In 2017 again, at Kapkoi here in Moi's Bridge he killed another lady and he was released this year in March on bond," said Edward Ayub Bondeni, a village elder.
The agitated residents were Tuesday baying for the blood of the suspect.
They wanted him to produce the lower part of the dead student’s legs and the left arm that had been cut off from the body.
"We will not bury our daughter without her missing legs and left hand. We want the suspect to produce them since he knows where he hid them," said Margaret Kaino, a resident.
WIDOW
She also called on the police to help the victim’s mother, a widow, whom they said has been struggling single-handedly to educate her children after her husband passed on when they were young.
Soy Sub-County Police Boss Fanuel Nasio said the man was arrested Monday night after he went to report that he was being accused of killing the student.
“He came to us saying the mother of the deceased was suspecting him. We arrested him immediately and he is the main suspect in this murder,” said Mr Nasio.
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