Jubilee's Statement after attack on matatus

Members of Parliament affiliated to Jubilee from North and South rift have castigated the Tuesday attack on vehicles that were headed to Kisumu from Kericho.

Speaking to the press from the National Assembly buildings on Wednesday, a battery of Jubilee lawmakers have termed the attack on vehicles unfortunate adding that the Nasa lawmakers in Awasi area should advice their constituents to stop violence.

“We condemn the unfortunate attack that we witnessed in Kericho yesterday and urge all people, leaving in Nandi, Kericho and Kisumu Counties to refrain from blocking roads and resume normalcy in their operations. We shall be holding a meeting over the weekend to issue chequ9es to sugarcane farmers, so we need a clam situation going forward,” Tinderet Constituency MP Julius Kibiwott Melly told reporters.

On his part, Bureti Constituency lawmaker Mr David Muhika Mutahi accused Nasa fraternity of inducing institutional violence adding that the Kisumu county based communities have created an edgy border with her neighbouring Kericho.

“Our people in the Rift Valley have never blocked any road, not any vehicle, but what happened was a clear provocation,” Mr Melly said.

The tough talk by the lawmakers come in the wake of sporadic violence along Kisumu-Kericho border in which dozens are feared dead in livestock ruffling.

Anti-riot police on Tuesday was forced to lob teargas to disperse rioting matatu operators protesting against the stoning of two of their vehicles. The vehicles had their windows smashed by unknown persons at Awasi trading center in Kisumu County.

Several passengers in the vehicles owned by Wareng Sacco sustained slight injuries during the 9am incident.

Kericho County base commander Michael Kahare and Kericho OCS Abduraham Mohamed had a hard time trying to clear the busy Kericho-Kisumu highway.

Youths in Kericho town barricaded the road in protest against what happened at Awasi. They were heard warning that they would flush out members of a certain community from the town if Jubilee and NASA's political differences are not dealt with.

Most matatu operators plying the Awasi-Nandi Hills route to Eldoret opted to use the Total-Molo-Londiani route for fear of attacks.

Kericho has been tense for some days after a man was shot with arrows following poll clashes at its border with Kisumu county.

The ugly confrontation comes barely a week after the historic and rare meeting between Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony and his Kisumu counterpart Anyang' Nyong'o. The situation remains volatile.