Mandera North deputy commissioner Dennis Kirui on Sunday visited Sarman location where clashes have broken out to protest over the hiring of a chief.
Area chief Ibrahim Ali retired mid last year.
A week ago, two Degodia subclans in Mandera North subcounty clashed and several makeshift houses were razed.
Trouble started two weeks ago when the position was advertised but only four names were shortlisted.
Three applicants from the Sarman community had been omitted.
The shortlisted applicants were Abdille Mukhtar, Mohamed Abdille, Bash Whliye and Mohamed Ibrahim.
Mukhtar and Whliye protested and refused to go for interviews, saying a politician had determined the successful candidate and interviews were just a formality to rubber-stamp the process.
The Gedinur subclan is the majority in the area, while the Mahamud Jibrael sub-clan from which Ibrahim hails from is the minority.
Residents are adamant that they will not allow Mohamed Ibrahim, who was picked, to set foot in the office.
Yesterday, Kirui met residents and assured them that a chief cannot be imposed on them.
We won't be led by a chief imposed on us by a politician just because he is a relative.
“We have heard your grievances and I have written to the Interior ministry, which is fully aware of the development. They will advise accordingly. In the meantime, let us maintain peace as we await or the next course of action,” he said.
Speaking to the press on Saturday, elder Hussein Madey said their stand remains the same.
"We will not be led by a chief who has been imposed on us by a politician just because he is a relative."
Saadia Baryare said a senior politician was using his position to influence the appointment and asked the investigative agencies to probe the matter.
A resident who spoke in confidence said the Gedinur family opposes being under a chief from Mahamud Jibrael subclan.
So serious is the problem that a group calling itself the Sarman community has written to the authorities, including the EACC. It requests the process of hiring a new chief to be cancelled, and the position readvertised.
The group wants those involved in 'bungling' recruitment arrested and charged.
(Edited by V. Graham)