A funeral service at Bogetondo village in Nyaribari was temporarily halted for over an hour, after two political factions clashed over developmental issues.
The ugly scenes during Mzee Benson Otachi’s funeral at the region were a clear manifest of political hatred between former area MP Dr Chris Bichage and current MP Richard Tong’i, who were engaged in a fierce political battle in 2013 and a subsequent by-election in 2014.
Trouble started when Ken Ogachi, who is allied to the incumbent’s camp, accused the supporters of former legislator of alleged sabotage of development in the region by constantly inciting locals against the incumbent.
But in response, a group of youths allied to Bichage’s camp started chanting ant-Tong’i slogans, accusing the legislator of ignoring the region in terms of development due to their overwhelming support to the former leaders.
“They may look ugly scenes but we are used to them. The two leaders always want to pin down each other in such social gatherings. The Tong’i group is accusing Bichage’s group of constant politicking and the game normally goes on and on,” said Aggrey Ong’era, a witness to the incident.
However, normalcy was restored by local elders and police officers, who expunged the errant youths from the meeting and arrested two, who allegedly became violent and attacked innocent mourners.
“We used a lot of persuasion to calm the situation and I really thank Kisii Central police for responding to our call. Two youths were arrested and taken by the police to Kisii Police station for allegedly attacking mourners,” added Johnson Mokua.