Nairobi — A section of Uasin Gishu leaders have pledged to preach peace in the county and the country at large, before, during and after the August 9 polls.
Speaking after a consultative meeting with County stakeholders’ leaders led by Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno called on leaders to ensure they do not instill fear to the residents adding that the county will be violence free this electioneering period.
“There some leaders who have been holding meetings here selling fear to our people. As elected leaders, we want to assure our people that there will be peace and the peaceful coexistence we have had since 2013 will continue,” Chemno said
“There is no cause for alarm, prepare to exercise your democratic right on the 9th of August and maintain peace no matter the outcome.”
Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi urged the residents to maintain peace regardless of their political affiliations
“It does not matter who you will vote for, the most important thing now is that we will remain as brothers and sisters. Uasin Gishu is a cosmopolitan so we have people from various communities in the country, I want to assure all of them that there will be enough peace and we will be on the forefront to preach about it,” Sudi said.
Uasin Gishu County is one of the counties that was named as a hotspot ahead of the polls by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC).
On May 31, NCIC also listed Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Kericho as high-risk counties for potential election-related violence.
Commission’s Technical Committee chairman Danvas Makori said that a Conflict Hotspot Mapping for Kenya report ranked Nairobi County high risk at 79.85 per cent followed by Nakuru at 75.77, Kericho at 74.81 percent while came fourth at 72.46 percent
“Nairobi County is seen as the epicenter of political contestation in Kenya,” Makori said while breaking down the report.