Calm as leaders seek to end conflict along Nandi-Kisumu border

National Integration and Cohesion Commission chairman Francis ole Kaparo addresses residents of Kibigori in Kisumu County where border clashes erupted last week leaving six people dead and scores injured. [PHOTO: COLLINS ODUOR/STANDARD]

An uneasy calm has returned at the Nandi-Kisumu counties border that has experienced volatile clashes between two communities. Officers from the General Service Unit, regular police and anti-stock theft unit have also been deployed at the border. But even then, residents say there is still tension and a lasting solution is needed to end the inter-community clashes.

Since the violence started a few weeks ago, many families have been displaced, property including 45 hectares of sugarcane destroyed, schools closed, leaving about 7,000 pupils out of classes.

During recent meetings between the National Cohesion and Integration and Commission and members of the two communities, cattle rustling and stock theft were cited as major causes of the conflict.

“If cattle rustling is the root cause of our animosity towards each other, let the law deal with the suspects. We shouldn’t habour them in the name of generalised ethnic violence,” said commission chairman Francis ole Kaparo at Kibigori.

Stop blame game

Mr Kaparo formed a 30-member committee, with 15 members from both sides, to find a lasting peace solution to the perennial border clashes. Chiefs have also been challenged to be vigilant in intelligence gathering and sharing.

“Chiefs in the warring areas are required to assist police gather intelligence to ensure arrest of all suspected rustlers,” he said.

As part of the peace initiatives, Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma has also formed a five-member team comprising church leaders, teachers and members of the community. The team will report back to him in two weeks with a detailed report.

Raguma said the findings of the committee’s report will inform how he will work with his Nandi County counterpart Cleophas Lagat in their efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict.

As voices of reason try to find a lasting solution to the problem, the blame game continues. Public administration officials led by Nandi County Commissioner Kang’ethe Thuku said there is evidence of political interference in the peace process. A section of religious leaders in Nyanza have called on politicians to stop the blame game and instead focus on reconciling the two warring communities.

Nyanza Council of Church Leaders chairman Archbishop Washington Ogonyo Ngede cautioned local to stop politicising the conflict.

“Pointing fingers will not help solve the problem at the border,” Ngede said. Father John Pesa, the spiritual leader of Coptic Holy Ghost church called for reason and sobriety.

“This is the time for the leaders to come together and find ways the residents can live in peace,” said the cleric.

Luo Council of Elders lad by the newly elected chairman Nyandiko Ongadi said they will hold a meeting with their counterparts from Rift Valley to find a permanent solution to the problem.

Kenya Red Cross Society Western Kenya regional manager Benson Simba called on the two communities to live in harmony.

Meanwhile, the seventh victim of the clashes, Kipchumba Rono alias Willy Kabur was on Thursday killed in a shoot-out with the police.

Rono, described by the police as the most wanted cattle rustling suspect had been linked to a series of livestock theft cases along the Kisumu-Nandi border and was on the police radar for the last one year.