At least 30 temporary police posts have been established in Kericho to quell any general election-related violence or incitement.
Kericho county commissioner Kamau Karungo on Friday said each of the county's 30 wards will have a temporary police post to handle security matters before during and after the August 9 general election.
Kericho has been mapped as one of the possible election hotspots.
It borders Kisumu county where the two communities view each other as political enemies over rivalry between presidential candidates Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto.
Commissioner Karungo on Friday told security agents to guard against taking sides when discharging their duties.
He addressed both Kericho and Kisumu security agents at Sondu market on the border of the two counties.
“The notion that it's our turn to eat since our own has won the presidency should not be allowed to infiltrate and poison our minds as security officers,” Karungo said.
He told security agents to adhere to security ideals that prohibit them from straying into politics and other prohibited areas outside their profession.
He told the security agents to ensure no hired goons by politicians are given room to trigger post-election violence like tension along the Kericho-Kisumu county common market border.
“Just like the Berlin wall was destroyed to allow movement of people from one country to another, we in Kericho should not create an imaginary wall at the Kericho-Kisumu Sondu Market, the commissioner said.
As Kenyans, he said, "we are all equal before God and no one ever chose to be a member of any of the 44 ethnic communities.
“Let our security agents serve all while discharging their duties as required by the law and not to be tempted to serve their kinsmen” Karungo said.
He was invited by National Cohesion and Integration Commission officials at the Del Fuego Hotel, Sondu Market, Nyakach, and Kisumu county.
NCIC commissioner Sam Kona, NCIC researcher Millicent Okatch accompanied the commissioner during the official opening of the security meeting at the hotel.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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