One of the two Bomet youths who disappeared with an unnamed female companion after a dramatic carjacking last Friday had a criminal record, new details have revealed.
Elvis Kevin Langat, one of the missing men, had previously been arrested and charged in court over a case of robbery with violence in Litein, Kericho County.
Langat and another suspect, Evans Kiprotich alias Protioh, were arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in February this year.
The charges linked them to a robbery on December 29, 2023, which was also linked to a series of cybercrime incidents in the region.
The crimes include sim-swapping, which involves changing mobile phone sim cards and using them to illegally siphon money from unsuspecting owners.
“Two suspected members of an armed gang that has been the nightmare of Bomet, Kericho and Nakuru residents have been arrested in an ongoing operation to weed out the criminal syndicate, which is also notorious for electronic (money transfer) fraud,” reads a statement issued by the DCI on February 14, 2024.
The suspects were positively identified and charged in court over the incident, which they have denied in an ongoing case at the Kericho law courts.
The disappearance of Langat and his companion, Dominic Kipngeno Langat (also known as Muge), along with an unidentified female companion, has sparked outrage and fear among their families and human rights advocates.
The trio was last seen on December 6, 2024 when their hired car, a dark blue Toyota Prado TX, was sprayed with bullets in Lari, Kiambu County.
Witnesses said the attackers, who were driving two Subaru saloons, shot at the vehicle, deflating three of its tyres. They then bundled the occupants into their cars and sped away.
The vehicle, hired by a Davina Bosibori in Litein, Kericho County, was later tracked and towed to Lari Police Station.
Family members are demanding that the government produce their loved ones, dead or alive.
“We are appealing to the police, whom we believe are holding the missing persons, not to kill them for whatever reason. And if they have indeed killed them, let them show us their bodies,” said Mr Hillary Cheruiyot, Muge's father.
Mr Cheruiyot added that one of the youths was unwell and required medical attention, adding to their fears.
Elvis’s sister, Jedidah Chepkorir, said she had spoken to him just hours before the incident.
“I last spoke with Elvis at around 4.44pm on Thursday. The next day, we learned they had gone missing. Despite recording statements and following up with the police, we have received no feedback,” she said.
Ms Peris Chepngetich Saitoti, Muge's sister, lamented that their searches at morgues in Nakuru, Naivasha, Narok and Nairobi had yielded no results.
The families' fears are compounded by reports that the youths may have been under police surveillance prior to their disappearance.
The car hijacking, coupled with police silence, has fuelled suspicions of extrajudicial killings.
“It is disturbing that despite assurances from police in Lari that the youths were in custody, they are yet to be produced in court or seen alive,” said a family member who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“We are appealing to the government to produce the three missing youths dead or alive so that we can put our fears to rest,” she said.
Senior police officers in Bomet confirmed that the matter had been reported under OB number 4/7/12/24 at Olbutyo Police Station and escalated to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for further investigation. However, no substantive updates have been provided.
The disappearance has reignited concerns about the rise of cybercrime in the South Rift region, particularly in the infamous Mulot area, which straddles the border between Bomet and Narok counties.
Known as the Sim Swap gang, perpetrators use stolen SIM cards to siphon money from unsuspecting victims.
Langat was allegedly linked to this syndicate, which moved its operations to other counties, including Nairobi, Nakuru, Kiambu and Uasin Gishu, after police crackdowns in Mulot.
The sophisticated nature of the crimes, involving multi-layered money transfers and the complicity of some rogue police officers, has made prosecution difficult.
The incident has also drawn attention to Kenya's disturbing record of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Human rights groups and churches have condemned the rising number of cases of young people disappearing under unclear circumstances.
President William Ruto, who vowed to end extrajudicial killings when he took office in 2022, has faced criticism for his government's inaction.
“This government must answer for the hundreds of youths who have disappeared or turned up dead. Families deserve closure,” said Mr Peter Tonui, a resident of Siongiroi in Chepalungu Constituency.
Mr Tonui stressed that if the youths are in police custody, they should be produced in court and granted legal representation.
