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'I escaped death countless times': How a feared bandit laid down his gun for peace

Reformed bandit Arthur Ruto Komen (in white t-shirt) with clerics and faithful of Chesongoch African Inland Church (AIC) on Sunday September 7, 2025 moments after he surrendered to the police in Kerio Valley. [Courtesy]

When Arthur Komen was not dodging the hail of bullets from bandits and police officers, he was plotting a raid in caves within the troubled Kerio Valley.

Alongside peers, they would retreat into caves in the rugged Kerio escarpments in Elgeyo Marakwet, where a meticulous script to avenge a raid was written. 

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