Residents of Posta estate and pupils of Kimilili DEB primary school in Kimilili are in panic after a tree that was being cut at the school fence could not be brought down in what has been linked to religious beliefs.
The tree now pauses a dangerous threat to the lives of the pupils and residents near its radius.
Residents say the almost eighty years old tree was planted by Islamic faithfuls who ought to have been consulted first before embarking on cutting it down.
Area assistant chief Abdulhamid Mukanda said the people who were cutting the tree using a power saw have since disappeared after efforts to bring down the tree which had been cut halfway proved futile.
He said they are now looking for alternative ways of bringing down the tree.
The assistant chief advised people residing near the radius of the tree to vacate immediately as a way of avoiding any disaster saying they had initially called for reinforcement of tractors from the West Kenya Sugar factory but the tree could not be brought down.
However he said the administration and the police are on the look out to ensure the tree does not cause any loss of life to the residents.
He urged the attracted huge crowds of people who have been visiting the place to quench their curiosity to be cautious.
Mr. Abdulhamid said more than eighty years ago Muslims had build a mosque at the place where the tree is but unfortunately it burned down saying some of the Muslim faithfuls are linking the current incident to the mosque claiming they could have been consulted first before they started cutting the tree for faith reasons.
He added that the mosque had since been relocated to another place but the faithfuls still believe the place was a holly ground and they ought to have been called to offer some special prayers before the process of cutting down the tree began.
However residents have raised their concern over the welfare of the children in the school being a school day saying it may cause disaster while the children are in class or in the playground urging that measures of bringing down the tree must be put in place urgently.
