A Suspected murderer surprised the court when he told Eldoret High Court that he does not want to be released on bail saying he prefers to live in prison.
Fredrick Cheserek, 31, who is linked to the murder of a woman who was found harvesting mangoes in his farm, said the lack of security in his village in Kerio Valley has made him afraid of being released.
Cheserek was sad that his brothers were killed by bandits while he was in custody, so he fears for his life if he is released on bail.
The defendant expressed his desperation to win the case while expressing the belief that he would be imprisoned instead of being released and killed by bandits.
Through his lawyer Amos Songok, the suspect who is an orphan told the court that he has no family member to be his guarantor since his parents were killed due to robbery attacks in the Kerio Valley area.
He told Judge John Wananda to speed up the hearing and decision of his case saying he no longer wants to pursue the issue of bail.
“I lost my father and mother through a vicious bandit attack in the volatile Kerio Valley and other family members have fled the area for safety,” said Cheserek.
He informed the court that due to the fragile security situation in Kerio Valley, none of his remaining family members will be able to travel to Eldoret and be his guarantor.
He also told the court that he feels safer in prison than outside due to robbery.
“I feel safer in prison than in my home in the village where security has deteriorated due to robbery,” he told the court.
Cheserek has denied killing Alice Pokot with a machete on December 8, 2021 in Keu village, Keben ward, East Marakwet, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The suspect was arrested by detectives in his hideout in relation to the murder of the deceased after they surrounded him in his farm harvesting mangoes in a sack.
It is reported that he confronted the deceased while wanting to know why he was harvesting his fruit without his permission.
The accused took a machete and aimed at the deceased who fainted and died on the spot.
Soon after the incident, the accused went into hiding.
The judge ordered the case to be mentioned on June 28, when he will set a hearing date.
