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Four people accused of killing a young man during a mob beating have been acquitted after a court found that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The case involved Christine Chepsiror, Javan Tuwei, Abiud Rutto and Elphas Rotich, who had been charged with murder over the death of Brian Kiplagat, who was assaulted on February 20, 2024, at Olmaroroi Kaptich location in Nandi County.

The court heard that Kiplagat and his sister were heading to a sports event at a nearby secondary school when Chepsiror raised an alarm by shouting “thief!”

This outcry drew the attention of villagers, including Chepsiror’s sons, who pursued Kiplagat into a sugar cane plantation.

“The villagers formed a big mob of people who entered the sugar cane plantation to fetch the deceased whom they found and assaulted on suspicion of being a thief amid his plea not to be killed,” court documents show.

“The weapon or objects used in the assault included sugar cane, fencing pole, stone and spiked club used by the fourth accused [Elphas] who was also in the mob of villagers.”

Kiplagat’s father arrived at the scene and learnt that the mob had descended on the victim on suspicion of being a maize thief.

“He found the deceased lying down on the ground on his back and bleeding from the mouth and ears within the home compound of the first accused.”

Kiplagat was taken to Kabiyet Hospital by his sister using a motorcycle, from where he was transferred in an ambulance to Kapsabet Referral Hospital.

A postmortem examination conducted by Dr Evan Kibiwot later confirmed Kiplagat died from severe head injuries caused by repeated blunt force trauma.

Throughout the trial, the four accused maintained their innocence, offering various alibis.

Chepsiror claimed she was attending to a sick neighbour at the time of the assault and only learned of the incident from her son, the third accused, later that evening.

Tuwei and Rotich similarly argued they were attending to a land transaction and the sale of a cow when the mob gathered.

In a judgment delivered on April 2, Justice Joseph Karanjah found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The only eyewitness to link the four accused to the assault was the deceased’s sister, Scholastica Jesang.

The judge noted that other key witnesses—including the victim’s father, a boda boda operator and a farmer—arrived at the scene only after the attack and could not identify the perpetrators.

Justice Karanjah observed that even though the attack happened during daytime, the conditions for identifying individual assailants were difficult.

He said it was possible for a witness to be honest but mistaken on identity, particularly given that Jesang admitted women were instructed to stay away from the scene of the beating.

“The witness also indicated that the mob of villagers was huge, numbering more than 40 people as it was a market day.”

The judge also pointed to inconsistencies in Jesang’s testimony, saying her credibility was undermined by fragmented and inconsistent evidence.

“It appeared that Scholastica had a bone to pick with the accused and in particular the first accused and her family, and that the death of the deceased near the homestead of the first accused provided opportunity for revenge,” Justice Karanjah said.

The court ultimately found that the prosecution failed to discharge its burden of proof and acquitted all four accused.