Kuresoi North MP Alfred Mutai was arrested last evening moments after presenting himself to the Regional Criminal Investigation Officer (RCIO), ending days of police manhunt following a deadly political clash that left two people dead and several others hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds.

The first-term legislator had been on the run since Friday afternoon, when the National Police Service (NPS) labeled him the prime suspect in the bloodshed and issued a public directive for his immediate surrender.

Yielding to immense pressure from state detectives, Mutai walked into the regional headquarters to record a statement, only to be immediately detained.

The arrest was occasioned by a volatile confrontation at the Sirikwa Umoja grounds in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County, during what was supposed to be a youth and women empowerment forum.

The high-profile event, led by Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and attended by prominent regional figures like Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and Bahati MP Irene Njoki, rapidly disintegrated into a warzone.

According to preliminary police reports seen by Kondele News, a chaotic clash erupted when groups of suspected hired goons allied to MP Mutai confronted the Governor’s supporters and security detail.

As the confrontation escalated, gunshots rang out through the crowd, cutting the development program short and sending hundreds of attendees fleeing in a frantic stampede.

At least three victims, Job Kiprono, Mohamed Ali, and Isaac Cheruiyot, sustained severe gunshot wounds to their limbs and were rushed to the Molo Level 4 Hospital for emergency treatment.

Two people succumbed to their injuries.

The factional warfare also triggered widespread arson and vandalism across the venue; a passenger bus tasked with transporting plastic chairs and tents to the secondary school grounds was completely torched by an angry mob.

Simultaneously, retaliatory crowds pelted rocks at MP Mutai’s official motorcade, severely wrecking his vehicle before his security detail managed to extract him from the chaos.

Over the weekend, heavily armed police units conducted a massive security sweep across the sub-county, sweeping up 56 male suspects and recovering various weapons used during the riot.

The incident exposed a fractured, increasingly violent civil war within the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party in Nakuru County. Friction has been building for months between Governor Kihika’s administration and local legislators like Mutai over regional dominance and political alignments ahead of the upcoming elections.

Following Mutai’s arrest, the National Police Service reiterated its warning that no leader—regardless of their social status, political influence, or public office, is above the law when it comes to organizing political goonism or inciting violence against Kenyan citizens.