One person has been stabbed to death at a funeral in Muhoroni, Kisumu county after a fight broke out between supporters of local politicians.
The fracas saw the burial ceremony for the late Kisumu County Assembly human resource officer Lazarus Obera ended prematurely.
Obera was also the Legion Maria of African Church mission Arch-Bishop Lazarus Obera.
The trouble started when Speaker Elisha Oraro who was the master of ceremony towards the tail end of the program had insisted that he speaks last against the wishes of the area MP Onyango Koyoo.
Koyoo, however, blamed the organisers for the breach of protocol and snubbing him as the area MP and declined to speak to the mourners.
He called for unity saying that all the elected leaders should be respected. Koyoo was later to invite former Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma and Senator Fred Outa, both failed to address the mourners due to the chaos.
The protocol hitch made the angry youths storm the podium and pulled down the speaker who had refused to hand over the microphone to other speakers before the fracas broke out.
During the fracas, one person was stabbed twice and died on the spot after bleeding profusely.
At some point, some youth booed and heckle and demanded that no politician should speak at the funeral after former majority leader and Kisumu county Liaison officer Samwel Ong'ow.
The suspect who stabbed the deceased was arrested after the police shot him twice in the leg as he tried to escape.
He was arrested and taken to the hospital. The body was moved to Ahero hospital mortuary, Nyando sub-county.
Former Kisumu County Assembly minority leader Missionary Atieno Auko who represented Ombeyi ward as the MCA in the last regime vehemently condemned the incident.
"Fracas in burials are uncalled for and should not be given space in the modern world. It is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible," Auko said.
He eugologised the late Obera as a renowned Archbishop in the Legion church and should have been accorded a decent burial ceremony.
Auko appealed to politicians in Muhoroni and the entire county to shun violent politics that threatens the lives of the locals.
He said politicians should embrace political tolerance, peace, and unity and shun violence even as they sell their policies to the electorates.
Auko also called on local leaders to respect each other and work together for the sake of unity and development.
Youths from Muhoroni have also condemned the incident. They have also demanded that the area should be respected and treated with decorum as other elected leaders.
"You cannot come to a constituency where the elected MP is present and snub him. In terms of protocol, he should be the one to invite other elected leaders to speak. Respect and unity must be given priority," one of the youth said.
Kondele MCA aspirant Obungu Owich condemned and termed the incident as an uncouth and barbaric act.
He noted that every politician must be accorded respect and opportunity to address their electorates.
Kisumu ODM party treasurer Kasuku Achila termed the incident pathetic and sad.
"Our youth to take personal responsibility and shun political violence. We should not be used in political wars," he said.