Ten people have been arrested in connection to the latest violence at the Kericho-Kisumu border in Sondu that has left seven people dead.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki told the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and National Security on Thursday the suspected will be arraigned in court soon to face various charges.
“Criminals are purporting to be pursuing a boundary to engage in unlawful activities. Where the border lies cannot be an excuse for murder,” he said.
Kindiki added that the dispute in Sondu is not unique as 30 other counties have similar border disputes.
He, however, said officers in the area should have acted differently to avert the violence.
“We must first isolate the criminals before we look at the border dispute. Livestock have been stolen during the violence. I do not see any connection between a boundary and a cow,” he said.
Kindiki added that more police officers will be deployed in the area to prevent further attacks.
Nyakach MP Joshua Aduma the attacks are not about a border dispute.
“It is one community attacking another. Houses are burnt on one side of the area,” he stated.
Aduma added that the people behind the violence are ferried from distant areas.
“The people in the area know each other. Those attacking them are not from within,” he claimed.
President William Ruto ordered the arrest of all those behind the clashes in Sondu.
Speaking in Nyando, Kisumu County on the first day of his 4-day visit to Nyanza, Ruto ordered Kindiki to crack down on the perpetrators.
Kindiki on Thursday transferred security chiefs from both sides of the border as the government moved to reclaim calm and return the situation in the area to normal.
He also noted that all other security officers found to have been complicit in the clashes would also be moved, and perpetrators of the crimes arrested.
Kindiki added that a multi-agency security team has since been deployed to Sondu.
Azimio leaders on the other hand blame area political leaders for the skirmishes.
“Let’s make no mistake. The violence and mayhem in Sondu are not ordinary disagreements between villagers. Big names are behind this violence," the leaders claimed in a statement read by former Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa.
"They include leaders and politicians from the neighbouring county and in the national government.”
Residents have also appealed to the government to find a permanent solution to the insecurity menace on the border area.
