Security officers deployed in Kisii Town amid claims of looming demos
Police officers patrol the streets of Kisii town on Friday.
For the second day in a row, a heavy contingent of security officers has been deployed in Kisii town in anticipation of demonstrations allegedly planned by Governor Simba Arati.
The armed police have been patrolling the streets since Thursday, while others are stationed at strategic points leading to the town centre.
Vehicles used by the officers on patrol indicate that they are drawn from Trans Mara (Narok County), Homa Bay County and other sub-Counties in Kisii.
Police sources said top county security chiefs had received intelligence reports that Mr Arati was planning a 'mega' demonstration.
But Mr Arati's supporters said the police were acting out of malice and were only out to intimidate and threaten residents as there were no planned demonstrations.
The heavy police presence in the small but congested town comes just days after Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu clashed with Governor Arati during a funeral ceremony at Kisii National Polytechnic.
Mr Machogu was heckled as he began to read a eulogy by President William Ruto.
The CS accused Mr Arati of sponsoring the heckling by paying youths, but in a rebuttal, the governor said Mr Machogu was unpopular and should stop making false allegations.
The beefing of security also comes just a day after a section of the Kisii County Assembly (MCA) backed a motion to impeach the deputy governor, Robert Monda.
Already, 51 MCAs have signed in support of the impeachment motion.
The government, through the newly appointed Kisii County Commissioner Joseph Kibet, has already vowed to restore order and stamp out the politics of hooliganism that has rocked the region over the past year.
"We have come here to work and provide security. Anyone who tampers with these two will face our wrath. I assure you.... I heard some youths making noise. If there are some leaders who are inciting youths to make noise, we will deal with them. I assure the governor that I am not here for consolation, I am here to work," Mr Kibet warned.
On Wednesday, the bitter war between Mr Arati and his political rivals spilled into the corridors of justice after police allegedly profiled 13 of his supporters as goons. Through his lawyers George Morara and Zelmer Bonuke, Mr Arati argued that the profiling, arrest and/or publication of the names of his supporters had put them in danger.
The lawyers filed an urgent application on Thursday, seeking a court order preventing the suspects from being arrested.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights was listed as an interested party in the case.
"CCIO Christine Njue had given us a list of suspects who were perceived to be goons but were in reality supporters of Governor Simba Arati. We went to court with a certificate of urgency and this afternoon the Kisii High Court granted our prayer number 3," said lawyer Morara.
In the application, the lawyers challenge the branding of the said individuals as thugs and the planned arrest by the state, which they say has "no legal basis".
Last month, Mr Arati's scholarship distribution ceremony in Nyakembene, South Mugirango, was disrupted by hooligans, resulting in the shooting of people as members of the public - parents and students - scampered for safety.
Governor Arati reported the matter to Kisii Central Police Station.
The county chief has always suspected foul play, often claiming that the county's security apparatus was being misused by his political rivals.
On one occasion, he reported to his office at Gusii Stadium only to find fully armed General Service Unit officers 'relaxing' outside his office.
Mr Arati interpreted the GSU's presence as intimidation by his rivals.
