Marsabit residents urged to live in harmony

Marsabit county residents have been advised to coexist harmoniously with each other so that the county can witness development growth.

Marsabit deputy Governor Solomon Gubo Riwe urged chiefs and elders to hold a peace meeting to end perennial tribal clashes and banditry attacks and called on the community to set up conflict resolution mechanism to stem ethnic conflicts.

He pointed out that skirmishes and tribal clashes have been the source of underdevelopment.

"I would like to encourage all people in the county regardless of their tribe to live in unity which is even insisted by leaders and religious groups," he said.

He appealed to the residents to donate blood to help in the treatment of the patients admitted at the hospital. He said county referral hospital needs blood to treat outbreak of disease and those admitted with complications.

He added that high demand for blood at the hospital can only be addressed through voluntary blood donation from the members of the public.

"Patients at the hospital need sufficient blood that is screened and readily available in the blood bank," he said.

"When you donate blood, you are saving alive of someone somewhere, let's develop a culture of donating blood. " he added.

Deputy county boss advised social media users to restrain themselves against posting and sharing of an offensive content that might ignite conflict in the county and vowed that no amount of political arm twisting will stop the county government from actualising development agenda and maintained that they would focus on addressing challenges facing citizens and called for a prayer day.

Gubo said, the speed at which security apparatus respond to conflict determines how fast it is solved.

"The more the delay, the more people get sucked in a conflict," he said.

Deputy Governor while speaking at Moi Girls School in Marsabit during 56th Madaraka day, said the state should always remain neutral when dealing with sensitive matters such as conflicts and the security agencies in the county to be proactive and made a patrol to conflict prone areas.

Marsabit county commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo has given all individuals holding illegal firearms in the county to surrender the weapon within 14 days, warning that after amnesty period elapsed, the government would embark on disarmament exercise to mob up illegal firearms.

He revealed that government has banned any human activities in the forest and directed chiefs and their assistants to ensure that children of school age were not left behind at home and urged parents to live up to their responsibilities and give their children the best of education.

The administrator stressed the need for the community to live peacefully and called on political leaders to join security apparatus in the county to restore peace and preach peaceful coexistence.