A section of South Mugirango residents on Sunday protested the closure of Nduru Level 4 Hospital in Kisii County after goons armed with crude weapons stormed the facility and attacked medics, injuring them.
Professionals from the region also condemned the attack, saying it was uncalled for and is not only an injustice to medical officers but also to South Mugirango residents as a whole.
The protesters accused some elected leaders from the region of sponsoring the goons, noting that the said leaders are now using police officers to close the health facility for political expediency.
Mr Euglenas Ayiecha from Bogetenga said residents are not interested in supremacy battles between elected leaders, noting that the functions of lawmakers are very different from those of County Government.
“There is no conflict between the two levels of government. We want our leaders to work together for the good of the entire county,” said Mr Ayiecha.
Mr Richard Nyaigoti said talks have been going on to ensure lasting peace in the constituency.
“We want to avoid such incidents so that if there is a problem in the future, leaders are able to talk and solve issues amicably instead of resorting to chaos,” said Mr Nyaigoti.
Kisii County Secretary Mr James Ntabo and Water Executive Mr Ronald Nyakweba who are the senior most leaders from the constituency in the Kisii County Government led the professionals in condemning the attack.
“We were here today for a security meeting. We were joined by our provincial administrators, police bosses and other elected leaders. We want peace in our constituency and we came here to discuss that,” said Mr Ntabo.
He added that leaders must work together for any development to be achieved.
“Leaders from the national government and lawmakers should join hands with the devolved unit to grow our county,” said Mr Ntabo.
Mr Nyakweba told youth not to allow themselves to be misused by politicians to create chaos and damage property.
“Those leaders who are hell-bent on creating chaos should stop henceforth. We cannot be using young people to create chaos for the political millage,” said Mr Nyakweba.
He asked South Mugirango residents to support the Kisii Governor Simba Arati saying he has good plans for them.
“We also want to benefit from devolution. Let us support our governor by maintaining peace and ensuring a good working environment for our medics,” said Mr Nyakweba.
The hospital was closed after doctors, clinical officers and nurses downed their tools following the attack that left two of their colleagues and a driver injured.
The goons who were against the relocation of medical equipment at the facility left a number of medical staff with broken limbs BY DAILY NATION