Chaos broke out in a village after a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier was killed in a violent altercation at Mtaragon trading centre in Kipkelion West constituency, Kericho County.
Police
said the victim was killed after an altercation, which turned fatal.
Kericho County police boss James Ngetich said the victim was at a local establishment when he got into an argument with a group of young people.
This broke
into a fight leaving him with injuries.
Despite efforts by other patrons to
rescue him and rush him to the hospital, the soldier died from his injuries
before receiving medical attention.
He is
believed to have been off duty at the time of the incident, police said.
The news of the death spread fast and
by Sunday morning, enraged villagers launched a retaliatory search for the
suspects.
Failing to locate them, they set fire to their homes and business premises, escalating tensions in the area.
Several structures were reported to have been set ablaze as security forces were deployed to restore order.
Ng'etich
said property of unknown value was destroyed in the chaos.
He urged
locals not to take the law into their hands and instead leave it to the
authorities to address the same.
The police
said they are investigating the attack on the soldier and efforts to trace the attackers
are ongoing.
Tension remained high in the village with fears of more retaliation.
Police said they
had deployed more personnel to address the fears.
The body
was moved to the local mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.
Cases of
mob lynching have been on the rise amid campaigns to address the trend.
Some of the victims are framed up and killed in the process, police say, insisting they are the ones who are supposed to address any claims on suspects.
