A teenager was Monday, April 23 arrested for stealing women’s underwear in Tegeiyat village, Mosop sub-county, Nandi County.
The arrest followed a series of mysterious disappearances of inner garments in the area for several weeks. To catch the thief, residents through the Nyumba Kumi community policing conducted a search exercise from one house to another within the village.
“The matter had been brought to my attention as the Nyumba Kumi chairman. We decided to lay an ambush at night in one of the homes and the suspect was identified as the potential culprit,” said Kiptanui Rono, a village elder.
Rono said the 19-year-old suspect, Joel Kimurgor, was found with about 20 women’s underwear and other types of clothing wrapped in bags.
During interrogation, Kimurgor confessed to stealing the panties so as to gift his girlfriend who had asked him to buy new undergarments.
“He was preparing to deliver them to the girlfriend because he could not afford to buy her new ones because he’s a casual farm hand at Tegeiyat village…we suspect his confession could be fake,” Rono said.
Residents condemned the incident saying it was an abomination in the Kalenjin community to steal undergarments. Some women said the undergarments could have been destined for witch-doctors to be used for rituals.
