Former Eldoret City Manager Tito Koiyet has told a court that he was attacked and forcibly removed from his office by a group of men who allegedly told him that county officials no longer wanted him in the position.
Koiyet was testifying before Eldoret Principal Magistrate Peter Ireri in a case involving Collins Kipkemboi and Mark Kipleting, who are accused of assaulting him and two Eldoret City Board employees at the Eldoret Municipality Social Hall on February 18, 2025. The two accused have denied the charges.
According to Koiyet, the incident began after he was informed that a group of people identifying themselves as hawkers was holding a meeting at a county facility near his office. He told the court that the meeting was addressed by a City Board member and a senior county enforcement officer before several individuals entered his office and ordered him to leave. Koiyet said the men warned that he was no longer wanted by the county government and would be removed by force if he refused to leave.
He described a confrontation that followed, saying some of his employees attempted to intervene but were also attacked. One staff member allegedly suffered a broken arm during the incident. Koiyet further testified that he contacted the area OCS after the situation became violent. However, he claimed that when the police arrived, the officer advised him to leave the premises and go home for his own safety.
The former city manager told the court that this response led him to believe the incident had been deliberately organised. Koiyet also alleged that senior county officials were behind the operation, claiming that the plan to remove him from office had been authorised at the highest level of the Uasin Gishu County Government. These allegations have been made in court and remain unproven.
He further claimed that some of the individuals involved were members of a criminal gang operating in Eldoret and had allegedly been paid to carry out the assault. According to his testimony, the alleged payments were made through mobile money, and he suggested that investigations could potentially trace the transactions and establish links between the suspects and those who allegedly organised the attack.
Koiyet also expressed concern about his safety, telling the court that some of the people he identified as having taken part in the incident were present during the proceedings. He told the magistrate that he feared for his safety after leaving the courtroom.
Kipkemboi and Kipleting are facing charges of causing actual bodily harm to Koiyet, as well as separate counts relating to alleged assaults against Julia Ego and Salina Koitie on the same date. The case will be heard again on October 26, 2026.
