Sondu clashes: Waende mbinguni bila kupitia kortini – Cheruiyot

Kericho Senator and Majority Leader in the Senate Aaron Cheruiyot has called on residents along the Kisumu- Kericho border to live in peace.

Speaking during the thanksgiving ceremony of Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo in Siaya, Cheruiyot said the two communities had lived in peace for many years, adding that there is more to the clashes experienced in Sondu this week.

Cheruiyot now wants the President to issue a directive that will see those behind the clashes flushed out and dealt with once and for all.

“The criminal elements is Sondu your Excellency lazima uwapatie masharti tatu kama ile niliskia ukisema kwingine. Na infact hao yao isikuwe tatu, yao ikuwe number three direct, waende mbinguni bila hata kupitia kortini,” Cheruiyot said.

“Your Excellency do not leave this region on Monday kabla ya kutoa amri ya hawa wakora ambao wanasumbua watu pale Sondu washikwe na wasafirishwe pahali wewe ulisema wanafaa kwenda, sio mimi nilisema,” Cheruiyot he added.

This is translated to mean, ‘Your Excellency you must issue the directives I heard you give somewhere else (on sugar cartels). In fact theirs should not be three but the third should take effect where they should be transported to where you said they should (heaven)’.

He said even though the police who had been stationed at the area experiencing the clashes had been transferred, that was good but not enough to bring a permanent solution in the area.

He said as a person whose home is barely a 15 minutes-drive from Sondu, he could attest to the fact that residents of the area had not been able to get sleep in the past two weeks.

He said the Kalenjin and Luos have lived as brothers and will not allow to be separated by borders.

“While borders are artificial the love and the bond between our people, we all can never be separated by those silly boundaries,” the majority leader said.

He was speaking barely hours after Ruto issued a stern warning to those taking part in the clashes and shedding innocent blood saying their days were numbered.

Ruto said the people involved in the clashes would be dealt with the same way the government was dealing with bandits in the North Rift and Al Shabaab militants.

"Nimemwambia Kindiki ahakikishe ya kwamba kila mtu ambaye alisababisha mwananchi akapoteza maisha yake lazima akamatwe na lazima apelekwe jela kwa sababu kuua mwananchi mwenzako ni mambo ambayo haikubaliki,” Ruto said.

This is translated to mean I have directed Kindiki to ensure those involved are arrested and taken to court because killing fellow human beings is something the government will not accept.