Former Eldoret City manager Tito Koiyet on the witness stand at the Eldoret magistrate courtFormer Eldoret City manager Tito Koiyet was assaulted and forcibly removed from his office by a group of men who told him he was no longer wanted by officials of the Uasin Gishu county government.
Koiyet who testified in court said the incident left him injured and also resulted in two employees being assaulted, with one sustaining a broken arm.
“I tried to defend myself but they could not hear anything. They manhandled me and pulled me out of the office even as my staff tried to intervene. Some of the staff were attacked in the process and one of them broke her arm as I was kicked and pushed out,” Koiyet said.
He was testifying before Eldoret principal magistrate Peter Ireri in a case in which Collins Kipkemboi and Mark Kipleting are charged with assaulting him and two other City Board employees at the Eldoret Municipality Social Hall on February 18, 2025.
The two suspects have denied the charges.
Koiyet said he was informed on the day of the incident that a group of people claiming to be hawkers was holding a meeting at a county hall next to his office.
He said the group was addressed by a City Board member and a senior county enforcement officer before some members suddenly stormed into his office and ordered him to leave.
The group told him he was not wanted by the government and would be removed by force if he refused to leave.
He said a violent commotion followed, prompting him to call the area OCS, who arrived with a team of police officers.
“To my surprise, instead of dealing with attackers, the OCS told me to leave and go home to rest because I would be harmed. It’s then that I knew that the attack was a well-planned and coordinated occurrence,” Koiyet said.
He alleged that the assault had been planned and authorised by senior officials within the county government.
“In fact, I learned that the orders and plan to attack me and remove me from my office was authorised by the highest office in the Uasin Gishu county government,” he said.
Koiyet alleged that some of those involved were members of a criminal gang operating in Eldoret and claimed they had been paid to carry out the attack.
He told the court that the alleged payments were made through mobile money and that investigations could establish a money trail linking those involved.
Koiyet said he feared for his safety, saying some of the people he identified as having participated in the assault were present during the proceedings.
“In fact, your honour, I do not feel safe once I step out of this court,” he said.
The charges against Kipkemboi and Kipleting include causing actual bodily harm to Koiyet. They also face separate counts of causing bodily harm to Julia Ego and Salina Koitie on the same day.
The hearing will resume on October 26, 2026.
Former Eldoret City manager Tito Koiyet testifying before court in Eldoret
