President William Ruto had been scheduled to tour the Nyanza region and launch development projects starting Friday, October 6.
Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said the President will tour Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, and Migori Counties.
During his four-day development tour of the lakeside region, the President will launch projects on road development, blue economy, and information and communication technology sectors across the four counties.
However, just two days before the official visit of the President, clashes emerged at Sondu along the Kisumu-Kericho border that claimed three lives.
In a statement, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o claimed that the clashes were staged by gangs ahead of President William Ruto’s visit to the Luo Nyanza region.
“It is unfortunate that on the eve of the President’s tour to our region, some upstarts last night instigated ethnic clashes in Sondu along the Kisumu-Kericho border,” the governor said.
As such, opposition leaders from the region led by the Minority leader in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi have asked the Head of State to postpone his planned four-day development tour until the clashes are effectively contained.
“We want the regime in power to suspend any other activities planned or ongoing and focus on stopping these killings because if not checked, these killings have the potential to snowball into a civil strike,” he said.
Addressing the media at the National Assembly on Wednesday, October 4, the MPs accused President William Ruto’s administration of neglecting the residents calling for immediate interventions before the situation gets out of hand.
“We want the regime that is in power, which is Kenya Kwanza led by President William Ruto, to take this issue as a priority and to move with speed and stop the killings. We want the regime to move quickly and arrest the situation before it gets out of hand,” Wandayi said.
