Nairobi — The Mount Elgon military operation scored a major victory Friday when the top commander of the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) was gunned down.

Wycliffe Komon Matakwei, leader of the militia, is reported to have been felled near Cheptaburbur village in Kopsiro Division.

Matakei, 24, is said to have gone down under a hail of bullets at 1pm after being surrounded by an army unit which had been monitoring his movements in the past two weeks.

Reports indicated that some SLDF defectors were instrumental in the killing of Matakwei as they provided information on his movements.

The army launched "Operation Okoa Maisha" in the area two months ago to crack down on the militia which has been blamed for the deaths of more than 500 people since violence broke out in 2005.

Matakwei was killed together with at least 12 other SLDF members.

Four of them were senior leaders including spokesman John Kanai while the rest were bodyguards.

Other militia leaders either killed or captured in the operation are David Sichei, an Israeli-trained former senior policeman who had joined the group; Stephen Warsama and Mzee Psongoywo. The latter was said to be the spiritual leader (laibon) of the militia.

Psongoywo was arrested in Eldoret and has been charged with promoting warlike activities.

Security sources said Matakwei and his fighters were all armed with AK-47 rifles but could not match the army's fire power.

Other reports said he was killed deep inside Mt Elgon forest as he fled the army offensive.

On Friday, an army helicopter was sent to the area to pick the bodies of the felled militiamen. It could not be immediately established where the bodies were taken.

The killing is a major blow to the militia group and charity sources say it may speed up the search for peace in the district.

However, they add that the Government must move fast to address the Chebyuk land issue which sparked the conflict.

Matakwei is said to have dropped out of secondary school and formed SLDF to fight for land at the Chebyuk Settlement Scheme after his family was evicted from phase 3 of the scheme. His father, who was from the Soy clan of the Sabaot community, had been given 50 acres in the scheme but protested because he had earlier held 200 acres which he had sub-divided for his sons.

When the Soy were evicted, the land is said to have been given to their Ndorobo rivals. A dispute over the sub-division turned violent there- after.

But Matakwei's gang quickly turned into an extortionist group imposing levies on wananchi and chopping off the ears of those who resisted. It then spread its operation to neighbouring Bungoma and Trans Nzoia districts.

All attempts by the police to crack down on the group failed, forcing the Government to deploy the army to Mt Elgon two months ago.

Matakwei's killing comes at a time the military is increasingly coming under criticism for alleged human rights violations. On Thursday, the Government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights released a report in which it detailed alleged abuses and called for the prosecution of senior military officers in charge of the operation.

Both the military and the Defence minister have denied that the army has been torturing suspects.

On Friday, Matakwei's brother said he was not sure if the rebel leader had been killed. "I have also received reports that Matakwei is dead but I am yet to establish the truth," he told the Saturday Nation.

Western provincial commissioner Abdul Mwasera also said he was not sure that the army had caught up with the rebel.

But security sources said police were waiting for the relatives to identify the body before they can release any information. According to the source, a national ID card was found on Matakwei.

Earlier reports indicated that the rebel had fled to Uganda 10 days before the operation started.

Since the operation began two months ago, about 1,000 suspects have been arrested and taken to courts on charges of promoting war-like activities, robbery with violence and murder.

While some residents praised the army for catching up with Matakwei, others were unhappy with the way the army had carried out its operations. Area MP Fred Kapondi has blamed the soldiers for the deaths of at least 150 people but human rights lobbyists say the number could be higher.

On Thursday, the KNCHR said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Louise Arbour, should recommend to the UN Security Council that the Kenyan Army be suspended from any future UN peace keeping missions over its handling of the Mt Elgon crisis.

The commission names Defence minister Yusuf Haji, Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga, Kenya Army Commander Augustino Njoroge, Police Commissioner Hussein Ali, Administration Police Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua and Mr Mwasera as some of the senior officers who should be charged. Others are army commanders leading the Mt Elgon operation named in the letter as S.K. Boiwo (commanding officer), Y.A. Mohammed (intelligence officer) and S.M. Musomi.

On Thursday, the Daily Nation published a report on the atrocities SLDF meted on the residents which included chopping off ears for cutting down maize stalks, refusing to join its ranks or declining to pay membership fees.