Three men have been arraigned before a Kabarnet court for allegedly setting ablaze a residential house and threatening to kill its owner.
Michael Kimitei Chebet, Julius Kimosop Kiprotich and James Kangogo Chepkok are accused of wilfully and unlawfully setting fire to a residential house belonging to Kiprop Symon Chemjor.
The incident allegedly occurred on March 4, 2026, at about 6am at Orkowo Village in Baringo Central Sub-County, Baringo County.
The three appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate (SPM) Purity Koskey on Monday and were charged with arson, contrary to Section 332(a) of the Penal Code, and malicious damage to property, contrary to Section 339(1) of the Penal Code.
The first accused, Chebet, also faces a charge of threatening to kill the complainant while allegedly armed with a panga and a wooden stick.
The prosecution alleged that Chebet uttered the words "situshike huyu baba yake tumkatekate tuue na hizi panga" during the incident.
The court was further told that the accused persons allegedly brought down the complainant’s main gate, kitchen and pit latrine.
The three men pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them, denying the allegations.
Prosecution counsel Sydney Koech told the court that the State had no objection to the accused persons being released on bond.
The prosecution also supplied the defence with copies of the charge sheets, witness statements and photographs relating to the alleged offences.
In her ruling, SPM Koskey granted each accused person a bond of Sh50,000 with a surety of a similar amount, or Sh20,000 cash bail.
The court directed that the matter be mentioned on October 12, 2026, when a hearing date will be fixed.
