A multi-sectoral committee has been formed in Kisumu County to coordinate peace and conflict management as the country heads to the August polls.
Kisumu County Commissioner Mohammed Maalim said the 20 member committee will be responsible for tracking the activities of civil societies in the county.
Maalim said the representation in the committee is above board and their mandate will be limited to peace and conflict management.
“Everybody is represented, even the media is here. This team will work closely with the civil society groups propagating peace in Kisumu,” he said.
He said that there are close to 140 civil society groups in the county working in the line of peace and conflict management.
Speaking during the inauguration of the committee in Kisumu on Tuesday morning, Maalim said civil society groups are complementing the work of security agencies in the country.
He said they have put up efforts to ensure the country gets to the polls peacefully without sliding to what happened during the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
“We are determined to ensure what the country witnessed in the last post-poll violence is not reported,” he said.
Maalim called upon party leaders to join hands in ensuring a peaceful election and put stiffer penalties on politicians who engage in political violence.