A 63-year-old woman has recounted how three men posing as detectives abducted her from her home and held her in the forest over a land dispute involving prominent politicians from Uasin Gishu County.
Ms Margret Maritim was at her rural home in Kipkenyo on March 18 when the two men, who identified themselves as detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), arrived at around 3pm claiming to be investigating a dispute over ownership of land she had bought with her husband David Maritim.
The smartly dressed men knocked on her gate and Ms Maritim innocently opened it when they identified themselves as DCI officers investigating the land ownership dispute. She had hoped she was getting closer to justice in the land case, she told Nation.Africa .
Margaret Maritim, a resident of Kipkenyo in Kapseret Constituency, Uasin Gishu County.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
The Environment and Land Court had issued a status quo order in her favour in 2020. She was home alone when the visitors arrived.
They asked her to produce all her land titles for inspection to aid their investigation and she complied, not suspecting any foul play.
The 'officers' then asked her to accompany them to their vehicle, which was parked about a kilometre from her gate, and she complied. Little did she know that she was being set up.
When they arrived at the car, Ms Maritim recalls that they asked her to get in so that they could speak with their boss, who was inside. And that was the start of her painful ordeal.
“As soon as I entered the car, they started driving while interrogating me on the disputed land,” she recalled to Nation.Africa .
She recalled the car being driven through the Eldoret bypass towards Kitale, a journey that ended at around 7pm in an unfamiliar forest, where she was told to get out and ushered into a wooden structure in the woods. The structure would be her home for the next three days.
Ms Maritim recalled the car being driven through Eldoret bypass towards Kitale in a journey that ended at a forest unknown to her at around 7pm, where she was told to alight and ushered into a timber structure in a forest. The structure would be her home for the next three days.
“By the time I was arriving in the forest I was so tired and scared as I realised these were not good people after they confiscated my documents with threats,” she told Nation.Africa .
Margaret Maritim, a resident of Kipkenyo in Kapseret Constituency, Uasin Gishu County.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
According to Ms Maritim, the abductors did not allow her to take her mobile phone, assuring her that they were not going far and therefore there was no need for it.
During the three days she was held in the tiny structure, she was fed ugali and cabbage and given a plastic bucket to use as a toilet.
On the third day, she was awakened at dawn and told to get into the same car that had taken her from her home.
She said her abductors left her near the Eldoret Recruit Training School gate along the Eldoret-Kitale highway.
She was rescued by traffic police officers at the Maili Tisa flyover who directed her to Juakali police station where she reported the matter and got an OB.
“When I arrived at Juakali police station, I narrated to officers what had happened to me. They first advised me to use a mobile phone belonging to one of the female officers at the station to call my husband, which I did and informed him about what happened,” said Ms Maritim.
Due to the jurisdiction of the place of abduction, the officers at Juakali police station advised her to report the matter to Langas police station.
Her husband, who had previously reported a missing person's case to the Yamumbi Police Station, sent her money for transportation through the officer's mobile phone.
Margaret Maritim shows the Occurrence Book notes on March 31, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
While accompanied by her husband, she reported the incident to Langas police station as per instructions.
When contacted for comment, Uasin Gishu County Police Commander Benjamin Mwanthi confirmed the incident and said investigations were ongoing.
“The incident was reported at Langas police station and is about the theft of documents," said Mwanthi.
Despite the woman’s narration of her ordeal, the OB at Langas records the incident as a case of stolen documents and not an abduction.
Ms Maritim has linked her ordeal to the dispute over a 10-acre parcel of land she claims to have bought from former State House Comptroller Abraham Kiptanui.
The couple claims to have bought the land more than 10 years ago using proceeds that Mr Maritim earned as an employee of Nyayo Tea Zone in Kericho.
“The documents that were stolen from my wife had all the details on how we purchased the land legally,” said Mr Maritim.
The couple said they entered into the land purchase agreement with the help of a lawyer in Eldoret and the matter has been in court for some time, with those claiming ownership avoiding the court process to delay the hearing and determination of the matter.
The land suspected to be the cause of Maritim’s family's ordeal is known as Baharini Settlement Scheme no 133, located in the Kipkabus area of Ainabkoi sub-county. The family was even compensated by KETRACO when the power company carved out part of the land for a power line 10 years ago.
Margaret Maritim, a resident of Kipkenyo in Kapseret Constituency, Uasin Gishu County.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
Due to fear and threats from powerful individuals interested in the land, the family has been forced to relocate for their safety.
Another alleged buyer of the disputed land has already fenced it off, Nation.Africa has learnt.
The family now wants Kipkabus location chief, Jeremiah Muigei, to shed light on the matter as he was one of the local administrators who wrote a letter confirming that he knew the family and that the land belonged to them.
“I have received several threats about this land known as Baharini Settlement scheme land no 133, even though the area chief is aware of our plight as a local demonstrator he should come out to tell the public what he knows about this land,” said Ms Maritim.
The area chief said Mr Maritim's family had an agreement with a new buyer and that the land in question had already been bought by a trader from Eldoret.
