The murder trial of retired Kenyan marathoner Samson Kandie has taken a dramatic turn after a lawyer representing the victim’s family alleged intimidation by one of the prime suspects.
Appearing before the Eldoret High Court on Tuesday, advocate Jeff Otieno claimed he received a series of distressing phone calls from Jamlick Morogit, one of the three accused in the October 2024 killing. Otieno told Presiding Judge Reuben Nyakundi that Morogit attempted to call him 11 times from the Eldoret GK Remand Prison, raising concerns about the suspect’s access to a mobile phone within a high-security facility.
“I did not answer the calls, but I later identified the caller as Jamlick Morogit through Truecaller,” Otieno stated, expressing fears for his safety. “I have never interacted with the suspect or shared my number with him.”
The lawyer urged the court to direct the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to probe how a remand inmate obtained a phone and the motive behind the persistent calls.
In response, Justice Nyakundi summoned telecommunications giant Safaricom to provide a data analyst who will assist the court in tracing and verifying the origin and nature of the calls. The judge directed that a full report be submitted to the court by August 1, 2025.
Morogit is charged alongside Rose Chepkemboi Rotich, Kandie’s wife and a clinical officer at Baringo County Referral Hospital, and a third unnamed suspect. The trio is accused of orchestrating Kandie’s brutal murder at his home in Elgon View estate on the outskirts of Eldoret.
Kandie’s body was discovered on October 3, 2024, tied up and showing signs of torture behind a toilet in his compound. So far, five witnesses, including Kandie’s daughter Vienna Chepchirchir and a lead investigator, have testified in the ongoing trial.
The latest development raises fresh questions about prison security and the broader implications for witness and counsel protection in high-profile cases.
Written By Rodney Mbua
