Family says slain teacher was not a criminal, demands body for burial
Mourners at the home of the slain primary school teacher Luka Kiplagat at his home at Kabarbesi village in Mogotio, Baringo County. The tutor went missing on October 29 and his decomposing body was found a week later in Tiaty East, hundreds of kilometres from his home.
What you need to know:
- The teacher's family has not been allowed to view his remains, and police have not told them where they are
- All they have are photos of the body that was allegedly spotted in a thicket in Tiaty, they said
- Relatives and friends have been camping at the late teacher’s homestead since November 2, hoping to unravel the mystery around his demise
The family of a Baringo teacher whose decomposed body was found mauled by animals has defended him, saying he was not a criminal.
His relatives also want his body so that they can give him a decent burial.
Luka Kiplagat, 52, who was a teacher at Kaplelwo Primary School in Mogotio sub-county, went missing on October 29 after telling his family that he was headed to Nakuru.
Mr Kiplagat, a father of five, was a secretary at the African Inland Church (AIC) in Kabarbesi and was a renowned master of ceremonies in the area, the Nation has learnt.
His decomposing body was found riddled with bullets a week after he left home ‘for Nakuru’ in the far-flung Nasur village in Tiaty East, on the borders of Baringo, Samburu and Laikipia counties.
His family has not been allowed to view his remains, and police have not told them where they are.
A photo of the slain primary school teacher, Luka Kiplagat, 52, from Mogotio, Baringo county during a past event at his Kabarbesi village. The teacher went missing on October 29 and his decomposing body was found in Nasur village in Tiaty East, hundreds of kilometres from his home riddled with bullets.
Photos only
All they have are photos of the body that was allegedly spotted in a thicket in Tiaty, they said.
Amaya Assistant Chief David Lomantile, who visited the scene where the body was found, said it had gunshots and had been stripped of the trousers and shoes.
Mr Lomantile sent photographs of the body to the family and they positively identified him as that of the teacher from the jacket he was wearing when he left home.
At his home on Wednesday, relatives, neighbours and colleagues visited the family to offer their condolences.
The family was reluctant to speak to reporters but later agreed to an interview with conditions.
Alfred Kibet, a relative, said they do not know how the tutor travelled from home to Amaya in Tiaty, hundreds of kilometres away, where his body was found.
No communication
He said that since they reported to the Mogotio police station on November 5 that the teacher was missing, they had not received any communication from officers to confirm that the recovered body was that of Mr Kiplagat.
“As we speak, we have not received any information from police regarding his disappearance, the circumstances surrounding his death, where the body was found and the progress of investigations,” said Mr Kibet, urging investigators to speed up the probe.
“We positively identified the body through the photographs taken by a chief from Tiaty, but we are yet to see it. We don’t even know where it is and that is our worry now,” said Symon Chebii, a neighbour and a childhood friend of the teacher.
Alfred Chebii, a relative of slain Baringo primary school teacher Luka Kiplagat from Mogotio who went missing on October 29 only for his decomposing body to be found in Tiaty East. The family wants a thorough probe into his death; demands his remains for burial.
A 'clean man'
Mr Chebii described Mr Kiplagat as a trustworthy person who did not engage in crime or any dubious activities.
“I am a retired teacher and I worked with Mr Kiplagat at some point. He was a very trustworthy person and I have not heard about him being involved in any crime,” he said.
Relatives and friends have been camping at the late teacher’s homestead since November 2, hoping to unravel the mystery around his demise.
“We have held meetings at his home for the last two weeks with no development,” Mr Chebii said.
“If indeed the teacher died as claimed, then we need to be told where his body is preserved so that we can bury it to put the matter to rest, especially for the family who are very worried. Everything is at standstill as we speak.”
He added: “His disappearance is a big blow not only to his family but also to the community at large because he was involved in many activities in the locality. We need justice, that is all we are asking for because we have a lot of unanswered questions.”
Questions
Cynthia Ng’etich, another relative, said they found it hard to explain to Mr Kiplagat’s children where their father is because they have been asking about him.
“We need answers from the police. He was the breadwinner and a very reliable person from whom we sought guidance on many issues. If he is dead, then we should get clear information,” Ms Ng’etich said.
A family member said Mr Kiplagat’s mobile phone went off on Sunday, a day after he left home.
A WhatsApp group of more than 500 professionals and locals was immediately created to help with the search for him.
Days later, relatives learnt about the body of a man that had been found in Tiaty East.
“A World Vision official from our village who was distributing food in the village in Tiaty overheard talk about the incident and helped identify the body spotted in a thicket,” a relative said.
Administrator identified the body
Assistant Chief Lomantile travelled to the area to help identify the body.
The family then arranged to transport the body to the morgue.
“The chief sent us the photos of the decomposing body of a man, and it seemed he had been murdered days earlier and we recognised it as belonging to our relative because of the jacket he wore before he left, though his trousers and shoes had been removed,” said a relative in an earlier interview.
Mr Lomantile said locals who saw the body reported that they had seen the teacher with two other locals on October 30 at a nearby shopping centre and that the tutor was their visitor.
“That is when they arrested the first suspect, who is from Amaya village, while the second person, who is suspected to have travelled with the teacher from Nakuru to the village on October 29, had gone missing,” the relative said.
Suspect arrested
The police said the arrested suspect, Auta Tikalin Lokitulia, 41, was seized on November 3 and was detained at the Kabarnet police station after a Kabarnet court granted detectives permission to hold him for 15 days as they investigated the killing.
The body had been mauled by wild animals and only a few bones remained.
“We have suffered a double tragedy of losing our relative and we cannot bury his remains either,” a relative said.
Bones
Daniel Munguti, a detective from Tiaty constituency, confirmed that only a few bones were found at the scene in the bush.
“The area is more than 30km from adjacent villages and it borders Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu counties and we were forced to walk for several hours on foot because it was not accessible by a vehicle,” Mr Munguti said.
“We have arrested one suspect, who is reported to have been [with the teacher] and we found him with an elephant tusk and a gun, but the other accomplice is still at large.
“We suspect that the trio had a deal that went sour, leading to the killing of the [teacher].”
The suspect in police custody claimed the teacher was shot dead by the missing accomplice after they disagreed on a deal, detectives said.
