Eldoret Judge Postpones Witness Testimony in Police Officer’s Murder Trial Due to Heavy Caseload

ELDORET, Kenya — In a recent court session, the presiding judge at an Eldoret court stood down a key witness in the murder trial of police constable Lilian Biwott, who is accused of killing her estranged husband. The decision to delay the testimony was made by Justice Reuben Nyakundi, who cited an overwhelming workload as the reason for the postponement.

According to Kenya News Agency, the court could not proceed with the testimony of Sharon Jepchirchir, the house help who was employed by Biwott at the time of the incident, due to the judge’s obligation to deliver over 50 rulings and judgments on the same day. Jepchirchir, who had been scheduled to provide her evidence-in-chief against her former employer, is among five prosecution witnesses lined up for the trial. The witness has been rescheduled to testify on June 4, 2024.

The case involves Biwott, a 32-year-old female police officer attached to the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit in Uasin Gishu County, who is accused of fatally shooting her husband, Victor Kipchumba, on the night of October 9, 2023, at their rental residence in Kimumu estate along the Eldoret-Iten highway. Biwott, who was stationed at the Kenya Bureau of Standards Eldoret branch at the time, has denied the murder charge and has been held at the Eldoret GK Women’s Remand since her arrest.

Further complications arose when family members of the victim protested outside the court over an incident where Jepchirchir met with Biwott in the high court cells. They expressed concerns that the meeting could have been an attempt by Biwott to influence the witness’s testimony. The situation was defused when a police officer intervened, directing Jepchirchir to leave the holding cells until her rescheduled testimony.