Sondu: High School Student, 22-Year-Old Man Killed As Fresh Ethnic Clashes Erupt

• Kisumu governor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o condemned the ethnic clashes that left two people dead in Nyakach
• Among those killed was Collins Odhiambo, a 17-year-old Form Four student of Kegoga Secondary School
• Collins was killed after youths armed with poisonous arrows attacked his village in the North Nyakach ward

Nyakach - Two people have been killed following the sporadic ethnic clashes along the Kisumu-Kericho border.

The clashes, which police said were triggered by the theft of cows, left five people injured and several properties of unknown value destroyed.

What caused ethic clashes in Nyakach?

Citizen TV reported that those killed were a 17-year-old Form Four student and a 22-year-old man shot with arrows during the attack.

Collins Ouma Odhiambo, a student at Kegoya Secondary School in Vihiga county was killed after being ambushed by armed youths at home in Kasaye, North Nyakach ward.

Joseph Amolo Oduor, one of the residents attacked in the skirmishes, said Collins was killed after failing to escape on time.

"Collins had been moving animals from his home to Ndori Primary when he went back to get his jacket. The attackers got up with him during the night as he ran into the barbed wire fence, unfamiliar with the terrain and unable to escape quickly. That is where he was killed," Aduor said.

Charles Abuna, 22 years old, was wounded with two poisonous arrows in the chest and neck.

Kisumu County Governor Anyang Nyong'o condemned the clashes along the Kisumu-Kericho county border, expressing his disappointment with the Ministry of Interior's inaction.

"We condemn in the strongest terms possible the killing of the two residents of Nyakach. These people did not deserve to die for conflicts that could be resolved through dialogue," Anyang' Nyong'o said.

Governor Nyongo alleged that there were intelligence reports about the tensions between the two communities, but the national government did nothing to avert the skirmishes.

"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 posed.

Kisumu, Kericho border conflict

Earlier, the government called on political leaders from Kericho and Kisumu counties to help calm the situation at the Sondu border point following clashes on Thursday, July 13.

In a statement to the public, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo called on the region's leadership to allow reason to prevail over emotions in the settlement of what he described as a historical tiff involving the communities living in the area.

At least one person was killed and several others injured after communities living on the border of the two counties engaged in a violent confrontation.

"What is happening in Sondu is historical and we are calling on leaders from both counties to allow reason to prevail. We must have an amicable way of settling disputes whenever they arise so that no one takes the law in their hands in trying to correct what they think is wrong," Omollo stated.

The PS indicated that the government, through security agencies, had restored calm in the area and also devised a mechanism to ensure the confrontations do not recur or get out of hand.