Police in Kisii County have today recovered four pangas and pieces of wood hidden in Kisii town near the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) County offices, suspected to cause chaos during the ongoing presentation of nomination papers.
Speaking to the press in Kisii town, Kisii County Police Commander Francis Kooli stated that they received information four days ago about the planned chaos within the county that could disrupt peace.
“We were able to rush there and did our search and recovered a reflector with a candidate’s image and four pangas that are sharpened up ready to be used. They were well branded and we suspect the purchase was done in a specific place that we are investigating,” confirmed Kooli.
Kooli noted that they had four names that they were going to hand over to the investigative department, saying they are narrowing it down to those who were to use the weapons today.
He said that the police had intelligence that there were more than 40 machetes distributed in other places, noting that it was a signal for the police to be alert, and their teams were briefed and informed.
“There are those who intend to form militia groups. We are narrowing it down to them. Those are part of the items we are investigating to know those behind. We did not want to preempt but now we have results now,” he added.
Kooli further said the police will conduct thorough investigations to ensure perpetrators are brought to book and taught some lessons on how peace is maintained and to respect the law.
