10 Suspects Arrested Over Sondu Clashes
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has revealed that the government has brought into custody ten suspects about the recent clashes that claimed lives at Sondu along the Kisumu-Kericho border.
Speaking before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on National Administration and Internal Security on Thursday, October 12, the CS noted that the suspects had been arrested and are being processed for prosecution.
”On the issue of Sondu, up to now, 10 suspects have been arrested and are being processed for prosecution,” Kindiki noted.
The CS responded to a question by Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma, who sought clarification on decisive actions taken since GSU police officers were deployed to quell clashes in the area.
‘This thing is happening in broad daylight. Do you have information on a single person among the attackers who has been arrested, and if so, what has been done?” MP Kaluma asked
Kisumu West Member of Parliament Rosa Buyu also questioned CS Kindiki on the issue, attributing the laxity to police officers who have overstayed in the area.
”You know the situation we have in Kisumu County. We have police officers who have served close to ten years in the same county,” she posed further, calling for the transfer of the law enforcers.
The MP also asked Kindiki to follow up on politicians accused of inciting residents to take up arms or making remarks bordering on hate speech.Â
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However, Kindiki had, on Wednesday, ordered the transfer of the said police officers, particularly targeting those who had stayed in the same post for over three years.
He also clarified that the process will be completed within 60 days rather than immediately, as various stakeholders demanded. Officers who defy his order risk losing their jobs or having their salaries withheld.
Clashes erupted in the region on October 4 in the Sondu area at the Kisumu-Kericho border, leaving three people killed and several others injured.
Several houses were burnt in the night clashes, further escalating the tensions. Area leaders led by Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyo’ng’o called for the deployment of GSU police officers to restore order, a prayer which the Interior CS answered promptly.
The clashes also came in the wake of President William Ruto’s tour of the region. In his response, the head of state, on October 6, condemned the clashes and called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.
”I have told Kindiki to make sure that everyone who caused a citizen to lose his life must be arrested and sent to jail because killing a fellow citizen is unacceptable,” Ruto revealed.Â
10 Suspects Arrested Over Sondu Clashes
