Residents of Keroka town allied to Nyamira County have accused Governor John Nyagarama of being ‘soft’ on the border dispute between the county and their neighbours Kisii that has seen skirmishes in town.
On Friday, tension erupted yet again in the town when a group of tax collectors allied to Kisii County imposed levies on matatu operators and business people in a territory believed to belong to Nyamira County leading to intervention by the police.
However, town residents led by Mr John Omanga on Sunday accused Mr Nyagarama of laxity and demanded that he shifts his executive offices to the town to exert his authority and county boss.
“This matter (Keroka dispute) was solved by area leaders including those of Kisii but we wonder why it keeps on resurfacing. This clearly shows that our brothers from Kisii have disrespect of the highest order and time has come for our governor to stop being soft on this matter. It will be even appropriate if he shifts his offices to this town for our own good,” he said.
They said that town residents were ready to liberate the town from intruders from Kisii saying that initial investigations showed that the town belonged to Nyamira County.
“surveyors came here and settled that Keroka is a territory of Nyamira., but because we are brothers, the leaders decided that they) Kisii county) control a small section but we do development after consulting each other. To our surprise, the tax collectors from Kisii want to own the whole town. Nyaragama must learn that diplomacy cannot work and we are ready to help him use the force to liberate our town from intruders,” he added.
The border crisis has escalated with the recent scenario seeing Ichuni MCA Lawrence Aburi arrested for incitement allegations before he was released on bond.