On this day, 117 years ago, in Samitui, Nandi County, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Meinertzhagenin extended his arm to great Orkoiyoot Koitaleel Araap Samoei.
When Koitaleel extended his hand, in which he held ceremonial grass, as a token of peace, Meinertzhagen pulled out a revolver and shot dead the Orkoiyoot in cold blood.
The picture above, often used to depict Koitaleel is infact that of Kibeles Araap Terer.
Kibeles was a cousin to Koitalel and a sort of rival. He saw himself as a true Orkoiyoot too. This division was exploited to the full by the British.
Koitaleel and Kibeles were both from the great lineage of Orkoiyoot Kimyoleei Araap Turgat. The rivalry ended when Koitalel was shot dead by British forces led by Richard Meinertzhagen on October 19, 1905. His death effectively ended the Nandi Resistance to British rule.
Kibeles was installed as the fifth Orkoiyot of the Nandi by the British and made the first Paramount Chief of Nandi. In the words of Meinertzhagen, Kibeles did not much like his cousin Koitaleel.
Writing in his diary, Meinertzhagen said that Kibeles was pleased that he had killed Koitaleel and described him as ‘a bad man.’ It is difficult to know if this was a case of sibling rivalry or just plain conjecture on the part of Kibeles trying to delude Meinertzhagen.
His installation as Orkoiyoot to take after Koitalel, was against the natural order of succession as a son of Koitaleel should have taken over. But the colonial rulers had already found in him a genteel spirit and went ahead and installed him.
Kibeles opposed moving the Nandi to Reserves but took no effort to lead an active protest against it. He argued that the Nandi had already been punished severely and urged the government to drop the idea of the Reserve. He also pledged to guarantee their good behaviour. The administration ignored him.
In short, Kibeles was nothing like his fiery cousin Koitaleel.
The Nandi also failed to recognize him as Orkoiyoot since the office of Paramount Chief and Orkoiyoot were practically incompatible.
On the night of Wednesday, September 27, 1911, Kibeles died. A few years on, the last Nandi Orkoiyoot, the fiery Barsirian Araap Manyei, the Son of Koitalel was installed.
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