Violence erupts during bid to evict Narok governor

At least two people were shot dead in Narok County Monday when thousands of residents attempted to storm Governor Samuel Tunai’s office and evict him.

Eight people were injured, including Narok OCPD Paul Letting and one other policeman, as the mob tried to force its way into county government offices.

Medics at the Narok County Referral Hospital said two patients sustained serious gunshot wounds, while the other six had soft tissue injuries.

“One of the two with serious bullet wounds is at the theatre in a critical condition,” said a hospital source who declined to be named.

Narok Senator Stephen ole Ntutu led the protest with Members of Parliament Moitalel Kenta (Narok North), Korei Lemein (Narok South), Patrick Ntutu (Narok West) and Johanna Ngeno (Emurua Dikirr).

After gathering at a staging area near a Total petrol station, the protesters marched about 7km to the county head offices, chanting anti-Tunai songs.

They met a contingent of about 500 police officers, backed by aerial surveillance from a Kenya Forest Service helicopter, waiting for them.

On being told Mr Tunai was not available to receive the petition, they staged a sit-in for about one hour before attempting to force their way in. They were dispersed by anti-riot police personnel using tear gas and live bullets, only to regroup and start pelting police with stones and other crude weapons.

Narok North OCPD Paul Letting sustained serious head injuries after being struck by a rock and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

The incident follows three months of strife between Mr Tunai and a section of leaders who wanted him out of office over claims of mismanaging the county.

The attempted eviction came at the end of a two-week ultimatum to resign or be forced out.

After the fracas subsided, the leaders presented their petition to County Secretary Lenku Seki and issued a new 21-day ultimatum to the Governor.

Senator Ntutu called off the protest and condemned the police for using live ammunition on “peaceful demonstrators” demanding accountability.

“We have decided to call off the protest after handing over our petition containing our grievances to the County Secretary,” he said. “We expect the governor to respond to the issues we have raised within 21 days failure to which we will ask the President to dissolve the county government.”

Tension between the governor and his rivals began after the county government contracted a company they claim he has an interest in to collect park entry fees in Mara.

Leaders opposed to the governor held their first rally calling for his ouster in October last year, claiming he could not account for billions of shillings in county funds. They also accused him of favouring outsiders for key jobs.

Last month, they held another rally at Ololulung’a trading centre pressing him to leave office for not being accountable to the electorate.

A third meeting was called off after President Uhuru Kenyatta called them to State House, Nairobi, to defuse tensions. The President told them to give the Government three weeks to investigate their claims.