- Along the roads, a few people are seen walking in twos or threes carrying arrows and Pangas.
- Women moving around are seen accompanied by youths and are not allowed to walk alone.
Image: FAITH MATETE
Stillness is what greets you when you climb the steep leading into Sondu from the Katito area within Kisumu county.
Deserted homes, a section of closed schools and clear roads marked the second day of the Sondu common border clashes.
Along the roads, a few people are seen walking in twos or threes carrying arrows and Pangas as they keep watch while speaking in low tones.
Women moving around are seen accompanied by youths and are not allowed to walk alone.
At St Joseph Nyabondo Hospital, one is greeted by a sombre mood at the facility where most victims of the attacks are admitted and undergoing treatment while others are at the facility's morgue.
The Star met 45-year-old Monica Achieng Auma seated on one of the benches lost in thoughts.
"I don't know where to start from, on Wednesday they killed my husband like a wild animal as we watched from afar."
She said around 4.30 pm, the youths from the other community in huge numbers ambushed their village, and as they were on the run almost reaching the road, they accosted them.
My husband 55, could not move any more, the motorbike was also stuck, he told me to run even as the youths surrounded him.
She said the husband Charles Auma was shot with an arrow three times before being slashed on the head by a panga and cut on the stomach until the intestines were all out.
"They then took his motorbike and left him dead on the ground. So that's why I am here today at the morgue to be with my husband," she added amid tears.
For 57-year-old Elly Osindi who stays near Holo school, the youths also ambushed them in their homestead on broad day.
Osindi who is a village elder in Koguta said as a man he would not let them burn their houses or attack his people hence had to go all out to defend his family.
"I was armed with a panga and when around five of them came near the house, I scared them away using my panga before they could shoot their arrows more at him.
"Already they had shot me on the waist."
He said however by bad luck, he tripped and fell on the ground and that's when he was shot four times and one caught him on the neck.
"As you can see the stitches on my neck but am happy am recovering. Even though I lost people close to me and most of our people affected, our people are being killed," Osindi added.
Already seven people have lost their lives in the clashes that started on Wednesday morning.
There are claims that the clash began after one person was killed when they were caught trying to steal cattle from the Kisumu side.
However, two people managed to escape.
This comes even as Governors from four Nyanza counties have urged the government to urgently send a contingent of GSU officers to the Sondu to restore peace and security.
Kisumu Anyang Nyong’o, Homa Bay's Gladys Wanga, Migori's Ochillo Ayako and James Orengo(Saiya) in a joint statement on Thursday urged the Interior Ministry to act fast to quell the tension in the Kisumu-Kericho border town.
The county chiefs said the people of Nyakach subcounty and those around the Sondu market have been under attack for two days from alleged attackers from Kericho.
Armed with bows, arrows, and other crude weapons, these criminals have so far killed 7 people, stolen several heads of cattle, and wantonly burnt homes to the ground," they said.
They further alleged that their attempts to urge the police to re-establish security, law, and order in the area have been futile.
"In fact, the police from the Kericho side have either shown substantial support for the criminals or turned a blind eye to their attacks on our people.
"They noted that the issue of the boundary between the two counties should be settled expeditiously using lawful and proper government procedures.
The Chairman of the Luo Council of Elders Ker Odungi Randa accompanied by other elders visited the victims of the clashes and the family who lost their loved ones at the St Joseph Nyabondo Hospital.
Ker Odungi noted that people should not be forced to die before their time and will not continue to allow their people killed like sheep and goats.
He accused the government of refusing to provide security to the people saying as a Luo community they would not beg to live in this country.
He said the Sondu market should not be an issue because it was started in 1928 by one Mzee called Atela yet now there are claims to the market.
"Actions must be taken against the people involved in this, we want justice for the families and the people of Sondu as a whole," he added.
Jotham Ajiki, The Luo Council of Elders Organizing Secretary noted that President Ruto should visit Sondu following the happenings even as he is set to visit the Region.
Ajiki wondered why the Sondu issue was still a problem yet there were maps clearly showing boundary demarcation.