President William Ruto on Friday put on notice all persons behind the Sondu clashes that has left at least seven people dead and several others injured.
Speaking on his first day of the Nyanza tour, the Commander-In-Chief announced the security apparatus will be mobilised to deal ruthlessly with anyone fanning the clashes that has taken a tribal angle.
The clashes along the Kericho-Kisumu border left several houses torched and properties destroyed.
Speaking in Nyando, Kisumu county, a tough-talking President said the government will not sit and watch as Kenyans turn against each other.
He ordered Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to deal firmly with the perpetrators the same way security forces have dealt with al Shabaab.
"There are people taking us backwards and creating conflicts between the community and neighbours. We will deal with them the same way we have dealt with the bandits in the North Rift and al Shabaab," he said.
The government, he said, is strongly opposed to any attempts to sow discord or tribalism in any part of the country.
He assured the residents that the government has already put in place a proper plan aimed at stemming the clashes in the area to avert more deaths, adding those involved will be held to account.
“I have asked Kindiki to ensure that all those who caused the loss of lives are arrested and taken to court,” Ruto said.
The remarks of the President come a day after Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot called for the transfer of all security officers in Sondu.
Cheruiyot said the law enforcement agencies owe the country an explanation on how the situation escalated under their watch.
"I demand that heads must roll; violence has no place in our society," he said.
He asked the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and CS Kindiki to immediately transfer all officers in the area.
"The officers are complicit for not acting on actionable intelligence on planning and retaliatory attacks from both sides," he claimed.
On Thursday, Kindiki announced that elite teams from the security services had been dispatched to the area with clear instructions to ensure there is normalcy.
"The government has deployed a contingent of specialist security personnel to contain the escalation of violent crime in Sondu town and its environs,'" Kindiki said in a statement.
The fights between some members of the two communities living on either side of Kericho and Kisumu border at Sondu erupted on Wednesday night.
Those hospitalised in the ensuring fights are said to have injuries inflicted by arrows.
The opposition has voiced its concern over the clashes claiming 'big names' were instigating the violence.
"Let’s make no mistake. The violence and mayhem in Sondu are not ordinary disagreements between villagers. Big names are behind this violence. They include leaders and politicians from the neighbouring county and in the national government," Azimio said in a statement.