Homa Bay County staff locked out of their offices for hours

Police in Homa Bay town are hunting for unknown people who locked the main gate to the county government offices with padlocks on Thursday night.

Operations in the lands, health and water departments were paralysed for hours on Friday before police unlocked the gates.

Offices of Homa Bay town’s sub-county officials were also locked.

County staff in the affected departments were forced to wait outside for the better part of the day.

NULLIFICATION CELEBRATIONS

The incident came hours after the Court of Appeal confirmed the nullification of Governor Cyprian Awiti's election.

"We suspect that the gates could have been locked by jovial residents who were celebrating the outcome of the Court of Appeal in Kisumu," said Homa Bay County Police Commander Marius Tum.

Homa Bay town residents on Thursday took to the streets to celebrate the decision by the Court of Appeal to uphold High Court’s nullification of Mr Awiti's poll victory.

Former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga, who successfully petitioned the validity of governor Awiti's election, addressed crowds in Homa Bay town.

"The nullification of the Homa Bay governor's election should not be used as an excuse by criminal elements to deny the residents their basic services," said Mr Tum.

Police have launched investigations and have beefed up security at the county government offices following the incident.