On February 26, Raphael Kiplimo, 46, left his house to catch up with his peers after work as usual at Kapkures shopping centre in Nakuru West Sub-county.
The renowned businessman and farmer in Nakuru town, relocated from Kapkomoi village in Baringo Central with his brothers more than two decades ago to look for greener pastures.
To supplement the income he got from farming, the father of five won a tender five years ago to supply firewood to some top hotels in Nakuru. Family members said that sometimes he also sold timber to sawmillers in Nakuru.
Family members of the slain Nakuru business man Raphael Kiplimo during an interview at their home in Kapkomoi village, Baringo Central on March 12, 2024.
Photo credit: Florah Koech | Nation Media Group
On the fateful day, it is reported that the third-born in a family of six was in the company of local residents at the shopping center when a black double cabin vehicle stopped close to where he was. Three people wearing masks and another with a Maasai “shuka” alighted from the vehicle and beckoned Kiplimo.
Footage from CCTV cameras at Kapkures shopping centre retrieved by the police captured the car arriving in the area at 7:23pm. The businessman boarded the car, and two minutes later, it drove off. That was the last time Mr Kiplimo was seen alive.
His younger brother, Kibor Kapleny, said the people wearing masks sandwiched Kiplimo and walked with him towards the vehicle. Local residents who saw Kiplimo leaving did not suspect any mischief, because they were talking as they walked slowly towards the car. It appeared as if Kiplimo knew the people he was with.
“On that particular day, I passed by Kapkures trading centre a few minutes past 7pm on my way home. At 8:30pm, while I was relaxing in my house, I received a call from Kiplimo’s wife asking me if I had seen him or if I knew his whereabouts. She was getting concerned because she had called him several times and he not answering his calls,” said Mr Kapleny.
Cecilia Kabon, the mother of the slain Nakuru business man Raphael Kiplimo and other family members during an interview at their home in Kapkomoi village in Baringo Central on March 12, 2024.
Photo credit: Florah Koech | Nation Media Group
“She requested me to call him on his Safaricom line because the Airtel one went unanswered. I called as instructed, but he was not answering either. I sensed danger and I called a Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officer at Kaptembwo police station to inquire if they had arrested anyone at the shopping center. He said that they hadn’t,” he added.
The police said that they neither have arrested anyone nor had they issued a warrant of arrest for anyone in the locality.
Mr Kapleny said that the following day they called the DCI officer at Kaptembwo police station to inquire if there was progress on his brother’s whereabouts.
The police said they were still following up the matter. That is when the family recorded a statement on his disappearance at the station.
The officers told the family that the missing businessman’s phone had been switched off at industrial area in Nakuru at 9:40pm. It was switched on again and later switched off at the Limuru area.
“My brother went to Kapkures police post to have a look at the CCTV images captured at the shopping center. It was established that the vehicle that the abductors came with had arrived in the locality at 7:23pm and left at 7:25pm.
There were two short men, and one tall man who a Maasai shuka. They had masks on, maybe to conceal his identity. The car number plate, however, was not captured by the CCTV,” he explained.
The long search for Kiplimo began. Family members, in a bidto clear doubts, visited all police stations in Nakuru town. They extended the search to their home town at Kabarnet police station in Baringo Central, but found nothing.
“Every morning we used to go to the DCI offices at Kaptembwo police station to check if there was any news on our brother. But the police informed us that they had not traced him,” said Mr Kapleny.
On March 8, Mr Kapleny received a call from a police officer who asked him to send him a picture of his missing brother.
In the evening, a neighbour called Mr Kapleny. He went to the neighbour’s home accompanied by another brother. They thought that their missing brother had been found.
However, the neighbour said that he had received information from police officers that there was an unidentified body lying at City Mortuary in Nairobi.
“According to the neighbour, the police had found a body in Limuru in the middle of the road around 4:25am on February 27, a day after Kiplimo went missing,” said Mr Kapleny.
Reports by the police indicated that adjacent to the body was a cracked motorcycle light and a lady’s shoe. “The police said that the place where the body was collected looked like an accident scene, but they doubted because Kiplimo’s body had several cuts,” said a relative.
The police took the body to Tigoni Sub-County Hospital on February 27, and on March 1, it was transferred to City Mortuary because it was unidentified. The DCI officers took fingerprints.
“After five days, his identity was known after the results of the fingerprints were released. The Barut Location chief was given the information by the police to relay to us on March 8. We went to City Mortuary and we positively identified his body,” said Mr Kapleny.
He said that the body had a lot of deep cuts on the stomach, chest and the waist. There were marks on the hands, an indication that they were tied by a rope, and the body had a deep cut on the left side of the chest which is suspected to be a stab wound or he was shot.
“The body also had a wound on the right side of his head. One of the legs had been run over by a vehicle. We will only know the cause of his death when an autopsy is done. But from all indications, he was tortured before being killed and dumped on the road,” said Mr Kapleny.
When the Nation visited Kiplimo’s home in Kapkomoi village yesterday, we found neighbours condoling with the parents.
Cecilia Kabon, the deceased’s mother, said she was shocked to get reports that her missing son had been found dead hundreds of kilometers away under mysterious circumstances.
“My son has not been sick since childhood, and it is so sad that he was abducted by an unknown people and later his body recovered on the road with wounds. I am so disturbed. Why did he have to die under such circumstances? If at all he had a debt with any one or an issue, his abductors could have told us and we could have settled the matter. Killing him was not a solution,” she said while fighting back tears.
“He was a very sociable person, and he lived well with people. I am so pained that we have lost a very generous person who supported each one of us. He has also left a very young family. I appeal the State to investigate the matter and find the people behind the heinous act,” she added.
Paul Koros, the deceased’s uncle, also demanded that the government expedites investigations to ascertain why the businessman was abducted and later killed.
“All along we searched for him thinking that he was still alive and that his abductors would even demand a ransom and set him free. We are in so much shock that he was killed and his body left in the middle of the road to cover up the murder,” said Mr Koros.
“We want justice for our son, and we will not rest until we know his killers. I ask the government to speed up the probe and those involved be taken to court to face justice. It is so sad that evil people cut short the life of someone who was full of life, and who worked hard to fend for his family,” he added.
