Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o has appealed to the cohesion team to help find a lasting solution to the perennial conflict on the Kisumu-Kericho border.
In a statement on Sunday, he asked the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to immediately intervene after two people from Nyakach were killed.
"If it was about stock theft, where were the officers from the Anti-Stock Theft Police Unit, stationed not far away from the border? Have they arrested the culprits," he asked.
The governor said for the past three days, tension has been brewing on the border.
He said the tension has snowballed into a full-scale armed ethnic conflict.
"Photographs taken at the scenes are chilling," he said.
"Hundreds of people continue to flee their homes, especially in the worst-affected areas of Jimo and Kasaye. Economic activities have been adversely affected."
Several people have been injured, a house burnt and property of unknown value been destroyed in Nyakach following raids by youths armed with poisoned arrows.
Nyong'o condemned the killing of the two residents, saying they did not deserve to die for conflicts that could be resolved through dialogue.
He said it was disappointing that the Interior ministry had not contained the fights three days after tension started building along the common border.
The national government must have received intelligence about the looming fights and could have nipped it in the bud, he said.
He called for urgent and honest reports from the police on what has been causing the perennial conflicts and how they can be stopped.
The governor also appealed to politicians from the Kericho side to hold barazas and ask their people to lay down their arms and give peace a chance.
"On our side, we are already talking to our people to embrace peaceful co-existence with their neighbours," he said.
"The fights on our borders must stop. Let there be no more deaths, injuries, or destruction of property."
On Sunday, the governor dispatched Deputy Governor Mathew Owili and several senior county officials to the conflict areas to gather first-hand information.
The team visited the families of Sondu border clash victims in Jimo East, Nyakach and later presided over a leaders' baraza attended by the local community and the county security administration.
The governor also noted that the county government will waiver all medical bills of the affected persons and extend assistance to bereaved families.
Owili said he has been in constant contact with the Kisumu county security team to ensure peace and normalcy are restored.
