NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan police have arrested the prime suspect in the May 2025 murder of Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett, who was fatally shot while returning from a Small Christian Community Eucharistic celebration in Kenya's troubled Kerio Valley region within the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.
The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in investigations into the killing that shocked both the local community and the Catholic Church.
In a June 10 press briefing, the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) for Marakwet East, Zablon Okoyo, identified the suspect as Meshack Kilimo and said he was apprehended through intelligence-led operations.
"Luckily enough, we managed to arrest one suspect by the name Meshack Kilimo. It is unfortunate that this one guy is also part of the reformed bandits that we have managed to tame. But of course, you know, human beings have different traits and characters. As for him, he has not changed," Okoyo said.
He explained: "We used our wits and managed to arrest the fellow yesterday. As we are talking today, he is supposed to be arraigned before the law courts by our Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) department."
According to a June 10 report by The Star, a Kenyan publication, Kilimo was "arrested after he shot dead another man using an arrow during a quarrel over clan land in the same Kerio Valley area."
In the June 10 press briefing, Okoyo said investigations remain active and are being led by the DCI in Kenya.
"We shall prosecute the case accordingly, according to the witnesses and the evidence that we have gathered," he said, and added: "The case of the late Father Alois is within the DCI. The DCI opened a case and is still very active. Now that the suspect has been apprehended and presented before the magistrate, I believe all avenues will be opened."
The police commander cautioned that investigators are still examining whether the evidence collected directly links the suspect to the murder of the priest.
"If at all, the evidence that has been adduced and collected and placed in the active case of the late Father will connect to him, then I think it is a case that is going to come up very soon. But I can't preempt as of now because the officers handling the case are with the suspect right now before the court," Okoyo said in the press briefing.
Bett, a priest of Eldoret Diocese, died from gunshot wounds after being ambushed by armed assailants at Kabartile Village in Mokoro Location, Elgeyo Marakwet County. He was serving as pastor of St. Matthias Mulumba Tot Parish at the time of his death.
In a statement issued on the day of the attack, Kenya's National Police Service (NPS) said preliminary investigations indicated that the killing was not related to cattle rustling or banditry, despite the region's long history of armed criminal activity and intercommunal conflict.
Bett was laid to rest on June 3, 2025, at Holy Family Parish in Nandi County, the day after his funeral Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral of Eldoret Diocese.
Since the priest's murder, security operations in the Kerio Valley have intensified as authorities continue efforts to restore stability in the region, The Star reported on June 10.
According to the report, government officials have confirmed recovering more than 500 firearms through the ongoing amnesty and disarmament program, and that hundreds of former bandits have undergone rehabilitation.
Speaking recently on the broader security situation in Kerio Valley, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Kipchumba Murkomen attributed persistent insecurity in the region partly to environmental degradation.
Murkomen said shrinking grazing land, drying rivers, and declining natural resources have intensified competition among communities and contributed to cattle rustling, banditry, and violence.
He argued that lasting peace would require not only security operations but also environmental restoration and sustainable economic opportunities for young people through initiatives such as tree planting, rehabilitation of water sources, agroforestry, beekeeping, and ecotourism.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
