Koitalel Arap Samoei

Koitalel Arap Samoei (c. 1860–1905) was chosen as supreme Orkoiyot of the Nandi. When the British began constructing the 'Lunatic Line' railway through the Nandi Hills in 1895, Koitalel prophesied that an 'iron snake' would swallow the land. Commanding elite Nandi warriors, he repeatedly ambushed British construction crews and stole copper telegraph wires to forge weapons and ornaments.

For eleven years, Koitalel defeated British punitive expeditions. On October 19, 1905, British officer Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen invited Koitalel to a truce meeting at Ketbarak to negotiate peace; as Koitalel stepped forward to shake hands, Meinertzhagen drew his revolver and shot the Orkoiyot dead at point-blank range, beheading his body.