Bomet residents have demanded action against administrators and police officers they accuse of harassing them on the pretext of enforcing Covid-19 directives and fighting illicit brews.
They want county commissioner Geoffrey Omoding to rein in "rogue security officers" and end the harassment, or they will have to deal with them to guarantee their safety.
Angry residents say there has been a surge in cases of brutality meted out to them by administrators, a claim the county security leadership has dismissed.
In the past two weeks alone, 10 cases have been reported in Kabusare and Kapimbiri sublocations in Bomet Central.
In the latest incident, a trader suffered injuries to his head, back, knee and private parts after he was allegedly assaulted by a chief and two police officers attached to the Bomet police station.
Desmond Korir, a food kiosk operator in Kelyot, Chepngaina, said he was going about his business on Thursday last week when the three pounced on him.
The officers were looking for some illicit brew traders and had yet to find them when they found Korir outside his kiosk. Korir said he had just served some customers. He alleged that the trio confronted and whipped him several times - one officer was armed but his colleague and the chief had whips.
“I asked them why they were beating me up, but they would not listen to any of that. They claimed I had instructed some two men who were at the centre to flee after spotting them - which is not true,” Korir said.
The administrators have been moving around villages beating up those said to be selling brews while at the same enforcing the coronavirus directives.
Three other residents, including a woman who operates a shop at the trading centre, are nursing wounds after they were beaten up by the security group.
"We are not going to tolerate [their conduct] anymore, we will not be harassed anymore while we keep silent," village elder Joseph Ngotwa said.
Reached for a comment, the administrators said they were acting on orders from their bosses and refused to divulge more, instead referring the Star to deputy county commissioner Henry Metto.
Metto, however, dismissed the harassment claims as untrue. “I'm not aware of such an incident," he said.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
