KDF soldier kills Anglican reverend in tragic love triangle
A Kenya Defence Force (KDF) personnel has allegedly killed a presbyter of an Anglican church in Kapsabet, Nandi.
Rev. James Kemei, 43, a clergyman at St Barnabas Pro-Cathedral Church in Kapsabet Town, was shockingly murdered on Wednesday.
The reverend was allegedly involved in an illicit affair with a lay reader at the church who is married to the suspect.
The priest was stabbed to death by the jilted KDF soldier after he found him in a compromising position on his matrimonial bed with his wife.
The incident was reported by the provost of St Barnabas Pro-Cathedral, Rev Nillah Bassy, on Thursday morning and police have confirmed the report.
“The enraged military officer set the trap after discovering that the presbyter was having an affair with his wife, who was a lay reader at the same church. The trap materialised on Wednesday night when he found her in a compromising position on his marital bed,” a neighbour said on the phone.
The soldier allegedly punched the priest in the head, knocking him unconscious, before cutting off his genitals.
He then turned his attention to his wife, breaking her hands before fleeing, leaving the priest for the dead.
According to Nandi police commander Dickson Njogu, the critically injured priest was rushed by good Samaritans to Kapsabet level 5 hospital before being transferred to Eldoret hospital where he died during treatment.
“The matter is being investigated by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI),” Mr Njogu said.
Mr Njogu said the incident, which took place in the Cheplengu area on the outskirts of Kapsabet town, had also been reported to the military police.
The injured woman is said to have fled the couple’s home after the incident and is still at large.
According to local residents interviewed, the priest had been transferred to Sang’alo parish in Mosop, but continued to commute from Kapsabet because of his alleged love affair with the lay reader.