Youth have been urged not to take part in the CORD demonstrations against the IEBC that have seen several people loose their lives in several counties and instead embrace better ways of solving issues.
Addressing mourners at Bukusu in Kibabii location Kanduyi sub-county during the funeral of Mama Roselyn Nekesa Kollikho, Reverend Father John Ogolla warned the youth on the repercussions of taking part in those demonstrations as they would ruin their lives.
“Last week 3 people died 2 in Siaya and 1 in Kisumu and they had a great funeral but the children have been left without a father and they are going to struggle in life as no one will take care of those families.” Ogolla said.
He urged the people of Bungoma not to carry stones if they have to demonstrate but instead walk and make peaceful noise without hurting anyone and without putting their life in danger from being beaten by the police after breaking the laws.
“When a wife have a disagreement with his husband does he take to the streets? He asked. Let us look for better ways of solving our problems as Kenyans, as individuals and as families instead of using demonstrations as a means of looking for solutions.”
Youth radicalization condemned
Ogolla further condemned the radicalization of the youth that is being experienced across the country saying many people are being killed innocently as a result of the radicalized groups.
“The youth no longer respect human life due to radicalization and we are talking about the Al-Shabaab yet they are in their midst and end up committing acts that lead to the death of so many people as we have witnessed in the recent past in our country.” He added.
Police urged to beef up security
He asked the police to tighten security around Kibabii area as several young people who are Bodaboda riders had lost their lives from the hands of criminal customers who pose as customers only to set a trap and take the lives of the young people and leave their families helpless.
He urged politicians to carry out their campaigns for the fourth coming general elections peacefully and stop insulting leaders publicly as it was a bad example to the children who attend such gatherings.
She was a disciplinarian
He urged the people of Kibabii location to emulate the live of Mama Roselyn Kollikho who he mentioned as a disciplinarian, one who never failed to fellowship with other Christians in church, one who loved education and left her doors open for people to visit always.
These remarks were echoed by her children who said that were it not for her discipline they would have wasted their lives and not become who they are in the society especially her eldest son Chris Kollikho who described her as gentle but very tough.
Her step son Lorion Kollikho who is the CEC for Livestock and Fisheries thanked her for being a guide and a role model to him since he was a young man to her death as her character shaped his life.
Supported education
The head teacher, St. Mark Bukusu primary said that Mr. and Mrs. Wanjoya Kollikho played a major role in supporting education by starting the school several years because of their love of education.
He said that the school is there because of them and that parents should follow their example and support the school fully as the late did.
Support County govt for development realization
The CEC for trade and industries Patrick Koi urged the people of Bungoma to support the county government so that more developments could be realized.
“As a county government our main goal is to impact the lives of people positively and that is why we have started several projects, especially the subsidized fertilizer which has impacted the people of Bungoma social economically especially those who are struggling.” He said.
“We believe that we will have food security through giving out subsidized fertilizer, then we will have impacted our people positively such a thing is reason enough to show that we are committed in improving the lives of the people of this county” he remarked.
The remarks were seconded by Lorrion Kollikho, the CEC for Livestock and Fisheries Bungoma County.
Kollikho said that the county government had set up a chicken slaughtering factory in Chwele which can process 5000 chickens in a day and urged the people of Bungoma to rear the indigenous type of chicken as the factory was a means of providing an alternative source of income and a ready market.
People urged to go for health checkups
The CEC of health Stephen Kokonya urged the people of Bungoma to have periodic checkups due to the increase of lifestyle diseases like diabetes that had affected mama Roselyn Kollikho so that they can be controlled to prevent early deaths.
He said that as a county government they had enough professionals who would help the people of Bungoma stop the effect of such diseases.
He added that the ongoing renovations at the county referral hospital has improved the infrastructure of the hospital greatly especially in the outpatient departments.
The revealed that their biggest challenge as a county is renovating the wards as they don’t have a place to keep the patients and they are looking for a way to do it without affecting patients.
He denied claims of negligence from the over 128 health facilities in the county saying they have employed professionals who know their work and do it properly though he added that it isn’t easy to monitor over 1000 employees in the health department and in case they find a worker doing it action would be taken on the said employee.
Mama Roselyn Nekesa Kollikho died at the age of 69 after fighting several disease from diabetes, high blood pressure kidney failure and heart conditions and she has left behind 10 children 2 boys’ ad 8 girls.
May her soul rest in peace.
