Mr Daniel Korir and his wife Judith Chepngetich, parents of Collins Cheruiyot who died mysteriously at Eldoret Law Court holding cell.
A Uasin Gishu couple whose son allegedly died by suicide inside court cells in Eldoret City last week has disputed the police account and alleged foul play.
Collins Cheruiyot, 24, is said to have hanged himself using his sweater and the laces of his pants after making a futile call to his mother, trying to convince her to come to court to settle the matter outside court.
He was facing a charge of breaking into a bar—which the police said was his mother’s—in Burnt Forest Trading Centre in Ainabkoi sub-County and stealing beer.
However, his parents now dispute the story that their son committed suicide and suspect foul play.
Eldoret Law Courts where a 65-year-old man protested against the court referring to him as the husband of the mother of his four children
Speaking after viewing her son’s body at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) morgue, Cheruiyot’s mother, Judith Chepngetich, and father, Daniel Korir, on Monday denied claims that she runs a bar where Collins is said to have broken into and stolen alcohol.
Ms Chepngetich now claims her son was framed, refuting allegations that she even owned the said bar.
"I have never run a bar business as alleged or even tasted alcohol in my entire life,” said Ms Chepngetich.
She took issue with the police for trying to associate her with a bar business, which she believes led to her son’s arrest and arraignment.
According to the charge sheet, on May 24, 2024, Cheruiyot allegedly broke into Round Point Bar with the intent to steal.
Upon being arraigned for the first time in court on May 27, 2024, he pleaded guilty before changing his plea to not guilty as the case facts were read to him.
Mental torture
According to his mother, the complainant in the case where her son was accused of breaking into a bar never appeared in court, subjecting him to mental torture after being detained at Eldoret GK Remand Prison for seven months.
"If the complainant was no longer interested in pursuing the matter in court, then why did the court issue orders for my son to continue being held in remand prison for that period?" Ms Chepngetich questioned.
She accused the police and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) of framing her son.
She described Cheruiyot as a humble, disciplined, and outgoing child who had never been in trouble with the law.
"I am yet to believe that my son committed suicide in the cells of the Eldoret Courts as claimed by detectives. There must be something fishy about the whole episode," said Ms Chepngetich.
Her husband, Daniel Korir, also ruled out suicide and accused the police of trying to cover up the real cause of death.
"Police must be covering up for those who killed my son in the basement cells of the Eldoret Law Courts by falsely associating my wife with the bar business where my son is said to have broken into and stolen some beers," protested Mr Korir.
Turbo sub-County Police Commander Patrick Wekesa stated that the suspect killed himself after failing to convince his mother to withdraw the case against him.
Mr Wekesa said efforts by court orderlies and other inmates to rescue the deceased were futile as he was pronounced dead upon arrival at MTRH.
Reports indicate that Cheruiyot pleaded with the complainant, whom police claimed to be his mother, to forgive him and withdraw the case, but to no avail.
The case had undergone several adjournments, with the hope that the parties would embrace mediation.
Last Wednesday, he appeared before Eldoret Senior Resident Magistrate Kimani Mukabi, who scheduled the case for mention on March 27, 2025, for further directions.
The deceased’s body is at the MTRH morgue awaiting postmortem as police investigate the death.
A prison warder from Eldoret Main Prison, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, claimed that the suspect had previously attempted to commit suicide.
