Kisumu County has decried the seriousness of a security alert issued by the United States (US) government ahead of the Supreme Court ruling on the presidential election petition next week.
The security alert issued on Thursday, September 1, warned US citizens in Kisumu that the region might be susceptible to demonstrations and cases of violence once the supreme court issues a verdict on the outcome of the presidential polls.
Moreover, while responding to the alert on Friday, September 2, Kisumu County’s head of Public Information and Communication John Oywa criticized the US for specifically singling out the lakeside county as a region that might be prone to acts of violence following verdict of the Supreme Court.
“We are in receipt of a security Advisory from the US government to its Citizens in Kenya, particularly those living in Kisumu,” said Oywa.
“As much as we acknowledge the Country’s concern on the safety of its citizens, we take exceptional concern at the tone of the memo which singles out Kisumu and suggests that the City could witness violence after the 5th September Supreme court ruling on the Presidential election petition.” Oywa added.
Furthermore, Mr. Oywa stated Kisumu is a peaceful county made up of diverse constituents who, under no circumstances, would take up arms to air their grievances should the Supreme Court verdict go against the petitioners.
“We wish, on behalf of the people of Kisumu to reiterate the statement issued by our Governor, Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o a few weeks ago that we are a multiracial and multi-ethnic peaceful community that care deeply for each other’s welfare, including our American sisters and brothers,” he said.
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Nonetheless, the head of public information and communication reported that they do not expect any change in the state of affairs in the county nomatter the outcome of the Supreme Court petition.
Additionally, the County leadership also urged Kisumu residents especially the youth, to remain peaceful as has been the case in the past few years.
