Residents of the Kapchambu area on the outskirts of Eldoret City were plunged into grief and disbelief after a 42-year-old woman allegedly stabbed her 29-year-old estranged boyfriend to death following a dispute over a blanket valued at Sh1,500.
The assailant, identified as Salome Cheptoo, reportedly stabbed the deceased—identified only as Moses—three times in the chest before leaving him for dead. According to the suspect’s family, the victim became enraged upon arriving home to discover his girlfriend had allegedly made off with his recently purchased blanket.
Moses, who worked as a casual laborer at various construction sites within Eldoret, reportedly stormed the suspect’s residence. He accused her of taking the item the previous day after he had hosted her at his own home.
Ruth, a sister to the suspect, claimed the deceased pursued her sister to her house, located approximately five kilometres away, in a desperate quest to repossess the blanket. This mission turned tragic when he was stabbed on the spot.
“My sister had removed the blanket from the deceased’s house while he was away working a casual job. He became angry when he returned from work and decided to track her to her house with the specific aim of reclaiming it,” Ruth explained.
The suspect is currently being detained at the Eldoret Central Police Station and is expected to be arraigned on Monday. Ruth Cheptoo recalled that her elder sister engaged in a volatile argument with the boyfriend regarding the whereabouts of the blanket after the two returned from a drinking spree.
“The deceased demanded my sister return his blanket, stating he had ended their romantic relationship and intended to move on with his life,” Ruth recalled.
She further recounted that the pair had been consuming alcohol together at a local establishment before walking to her sister’s one-bedroom house.
“Their relationship has been tumultuous for the past year. I even tried to intervene last December by advising the deceased to leave my sister alone and move on, but he ignored my counsel,” she noted.
The mother of three was subsequently arrested and held at the Baharini Police Station along the Eldoret-Webuye highway, where she had reportedly surrendered after the alleged murder. She was later transferred to Eldoret Central Police Station, where she remains in custody pending the completion of a comprehensive investigation into the construction worker’s death.
Uasin Gishu County Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Commander Daniel Muleli confirmed the incident, stating they are holding the suspect to help unravel the exact circumstances behind the fatality.
“We are still working to establish what precisely prompted the assailant to kill her boyfriend during a physical altercation in her house on that fateful night,” Muleli stated.
Speaking to the media at the station, Muleli confirmed that police have recovered the knife used in the incident, which will be presented as a key exhibit during the trial. Officers from Baharini Police Station have since moved the body to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue pending a post-mortem examination.
