How attacks on Kisiis were planned and executed by the Kipsigis warriors

According to Asha Kiva, the Borabu DC, the first house was burnt by Kipsigis raiders at a place called Esise, in Ekerubo location, within her district. This was on January 8.

Before then, there had been no violence on the Borabu side, although the Kisii/Kericho road, which passes through Sotik, had remained barricaded. Kiva and members of her DSIC visited the place where the house had been burnt and convened a meeting in the affected area where, she said, there was a lot of tension.

Even as the meeting went on, more houses were being burnt. Thereafter, the violence took the form of spot torching of houses of Kisiis living on the Rift Valley side of the border, as well as sporadic fighting between youths on the border.

Improvised weapons

The Commission was informed by witness number 123 that in the course of the violence, a peace meeting was held in Sotik area and addressed by the leading members of the ODM including Omingo Magara, a Kisii, and Kipkalya Kones, a Kipsigis.

According to the evidence, speaking in Kiswahili, Magara implored the Kipsigis people to stop the fighting with the Kisii people. In Kiswahili, Kones repeated the same message before he switched to speak in Kipsigis.

In that language, the witness alleges, he told the Kipsigis to continue with the fighting.

The Commission visited Ribaita Primary School on the Sotik/Borabu border and was informed that the school had been burnt by the Kipsigis during the border fighting between the Kipsigis and Kisii.

Several other schools along the common border, including Isoge, Rianyaemo, Saiga-Ngiya, Memusi, Magombo, Kebuse, Raitigo Secondary and Gonzagoza suffered varying levels of destruction.

In Kericho, it was the testimony of Wilson Njenga, the local District Commissioner that violence broke out on December 30, after the announcement of the presidential election results.

The following day, a large crowd of people armed with improvised weapons marched on Kericho town from all directions. They invaded the premises of the Co-operative Bank and Equity Bank as well as Stage Mart Supermarket, and gained access after shattering windows and breaking down doors.

Bows and arrows

They helped themselves to whatever of value they could lay their hands on and, according to the local OCPD Aliwa, some people attempted to access cash in the automatic teller machines in the banks.

Aliwa added that a number of them who were armed with bows and arrows attacked the police with arrows. Responding with fire, police killed six people and repulsed the rioters.

According to Aliwa, the severest violence in Kericho was on December 30 and 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008.

Thereafter, the violence changed form. Whereas, in the first three days or so, rioters confronted the police openly in Kericho town, the violence later moved away into the tea estates and the rural areas.

Further, some of the violence was now carried out at night. DC Njenga estimated that the violence lasted from December 30, 2007 and for the next two weeks or so there was intermittent fighting although, according to him, this had been contained.

According to Aliwa, whereas the initial violence was committed by armed youth in the immediacy of their neighbourhoods, the subsequent violence began to display trends of raiders travelling long distances to commit acts of violence outside their home areas.