Tribal Clashes in Nandi-Kisumu Should be stopped

It is now the four days since clashes started on the border of Nandi County and Kisumu County and the authorities are just murmuring in hushed tones bout the situation.

At least three people have been killed as a result of the clashes which are said to have ensured due to cattle rustling between the two regions, but from the look of things, the matter seems far beyond cattle rustling.

On Wednesday evening, 51-year-old Mr Philip Oduor from Odiowangi Village in Muhoroni was attacked by Kalenjin men armed with spears and other crude weapons and killed in what was termed as a revenge mission after a Kalenjin was killed.

Hundreds of people have taken off from their homes and taken refuge in nearby churches and bushes with no guaranteed security and at risk of contracting illness due to the cold season now in the region.

Most schools have been affected and children have been sent back home and all economic activities have been suspended. Tension remains high in Kopere and Soghor markets which have been hard hit and now remain as ghost centres with no economic activity going on.

The General Elections are expected to be held in August 2017 with only 13 months remaining. With smoke and sounds of drums of war already renting the air, there is every reason to get worried and having shivers running down the people’s spines.

Residents are blaming the security personnel especially the police for only mastering the art of appearing after an attack has already happened. They say that most recent attacks have occurred even as police say that they have intensified patrols. The locals and some church leaders in the region are now calling for the government to deploy the military to quell the situation that is now deteriorating.

The government has now ordered a shoot to kill order for any suspected fighter in the volatile border.