The Siaya County Security Committee has decried the rising number of murder cases in the area, with the local county commissioner, Jim Njoka, urging the residents to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to sort out differences.
Addressing this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) grounds in Siaya town, Mr. Njoka lamented that most of the murders are occasioned by land disputes.
“As the security committee, we are getting concerned over the increasing murders,” said Njoka, who urged the locals to follow the law.
The county commissioner said that apart from the murders, incidents where members of the public take the law into their own hands by administering mob injustice to suspects were also on the rise.
He named Bondo, Gem, and Siaya sub-counties as the areas that have recorded a high number of mob injustices in the recent past.
The commissioner, who was flanked by top security officials, among them county police commander Michael Muchiri, deputy county commissioner Robert Ng’etich, and sub-county police commander Benjamin Mwangangi, among others, said anybody who has a dispute with a family member or a neighbour must follow the law.
“If you do not want to use the court, then use the alternative dispute resolution mechanism,” he said, adding that the national government administration offices were always open and ready to assist.
The administrator challenged senior citizens to help bring down the number of disputes by distributing land to their children early.
Siaya Governor James Orengo, who was represented by the county executive committee member for governance, Agunda Ochanda, said his government has embarked on the implementation of the recommendations of a task force led by former Auditor General Edward Ouko to look into financial and management deficiencies.
“We have begun implementing the recommendations of the task force led by Edward Ouko that proposed a raft of measures to improve governance, financial, and management systems for the better needs of the Siaya people,” said Orengo in a speech read by the CECM.
Others who attended the celebrations were county executive committee member for health, Dr. Martin Konyango, and the county chief of staff, colonel (retired) Cyrus Oguna, among others.
By Philip Onyango
