Sworn political enemies Rashid Echesa and Cleophas Malala will probably spend the weekend behind bars after they were arrested by police in relation to the macabre killings of Wananchi in Matungu, Kakamega County.
The arrests comes a day after CS Matiang’i visited the region, where at least 26 people have died in the past three weeks, in what has been described as politically instigated incidences.
According to details on the ground, there are two gangs operating in the region calling themselves 14 brothers and 42 brothers. These gangs, which consist of boda boda riders are mainly bankrolled by rival politicians, who are believed to be Malala and Echesa.
Members of Nyumba Kumi, the clergy, businesspeople, farmers, bodaboda riders and ordinary villagers said it’s now considered “foolish” to report suspects to the authorities since they are mostly bailed out by the two politicians.
“They don’t care. We, the poor, are the ones being killed like chickens. Not them,” said Ms Florence Atsieno, a widow whose husband Isaac Sakwa, 38, was hacked to death by a gang member.
Early this month, the gang killed a pregnant woman and her two year old daughter. They forced the husband to watch the whole ordeal as it happened.
This forced Interior CS Fred Matiang’i to visit the area on Thursday, promising the villagers that their woes had come to an end.
“The days of those criminals who have been attacking villagers and killing them are numbered. From today, we are deploying the GSU and increasing the number of other security officers to restore sanity,” he said as he promised that politicians implicated will be arrested.
It is believed that the killings are just collateral damage as the two politicians try to intimidate each other ahead of the 2022 elections.
Malala and Echesa do not see eye to eye. Last year the Senator accused the former CS of trying to defame him through sharing fake photos.