As campaigns for the next general elections continue to intensify and speculation on the polling date continues, administrators in Kwanza District of Trans Nzoia County and other stakeholders are putting measures in place to ensure peace and coexistence is maintained in the area.

The administrators who range from the village elders, assistant chiefs, chiefs, Dos and the area DC including the regular and administration police have engaged in a sensitization exercise to have the members of the public embrace peaceful coexistence.

Speaking during a meeting at Endebes Catholic church that brought together over 600 village elders and all administrators, area DC Gabriel Risie said that the administrators have the mandate to ensure that the people under their jurisdiction understand the essence of peace and the changes brought by the new constitution.

“We the people of Kwanza are calling for peace as we approach the general elections and we call upon village elders and other stakeholders to advocate for peace and consider the requirements of the new constitution,” the DC said as he addressed the administrators.

Risie revealed that more regular meetings shall be held at different levels of administration up to the sub-location level to ensure that the message reaches the people at the grass roots level.

However, he cautioned them against taking bribes from politicians during the campaign season noting that the move amounts to a serious constitutional crime that may lead to stiffer penalties on the breakers of the new election’s laws.

 “On bribery, I would like to tell you village elders that if you are embraced with someone who wants to bribe you, then you will have to choose between staying with your children in your country and going to eat beans in the jails because it is six years or a fine of one million shillings or both,” the DC cautioned the village elders at the meeting.

At the same time, he warned married men who always confiscate the voting cards of their wives to dictate the way or whom they should vote for saying that similar tough laws have been put in place whereby such an offender will also be jailed for six years or pay a fine ofSh500,000 or both.

The area OCPD Lucas Ogara, DCIO, AP commandant among other senior security chiefs were among the people at the meeting and received various proposals from the participants especially the village elders who called for deployment of more police reservists to beef up security in the area.

During the meeting a District officer in the office of the regional commissioner Joash Abongo who represented the RC revealed that Trans Nzoia and West Pokot counties are faced with diverse issues that are turning up to be security threats in the region.

He said that Trans Nzoia county is marred with cases of landless people and squatters and politics among other pertinent issues that he said the administrators were working on to ensure that the issues do not culminate to the escalation of security in the area.

The administrator further pointed out on cattle rustling, boundary dispute between Pokot and Turkana communities at the Turkwel corridor and illiteracy which he said are major challenges being handled.

The meeting that was hosted jointly by the area administrators and the Free Pentecostal Fellowship of Kenya – FPFK group that has been advocating for peace in the entire Trans Nzoia and Mt. Elgon regions under its coordinator Festus Mukoya was also used to pass the resolutions reached by elders from different communities during the Mabanga peace meeting.

The Mabanga meeting that was also crowned by the vice president Kalonzo Musyoka had elders from various communities especially the Bukusu and Sabaot communities agree on various resolutions to have a permanent and peaceful coexistence amongst their people.