Tension is mounting in Muhoroni, Kisumu County, after one person was killed and several others reportedly struck with arrows in a simmering dispute over land hosting a sugarcane plantation.
According to Mr Benjamin Soi, managing director of West Valley Sugar Company, the flare up saw one of the firm’s trailers intercepted by unknown individuals and set ablaze.
“I heard that they also assaulted the driver, who up to this moment we do not know where he is,” said Mr Soi.
He further revealed to Nation that the company has in recent weeks faced repeated incidents of its sugarcane fields being deliberately set on fire by individuals claiming ownership of the land on which the crop is planted.
“Our sugarcane farms have been burnt several times in the recent past by people claiming the land is theirs,” he said.
A senior police officer, who is not authorised to speak to the media, indicated that the violence may have been sparked by an earlier confrontation between company security officers and local grazers accused of trespassing on the plantation.
According to the officer, two members of the Koguta community were reportedly attacked with arrows during the altercation.
In apparent retaliation, locals are said to have set fire to sections of the company’s sugarcane plantation and the trailer used to transport the cane.
Security agencies are closely monitoring the situation, warning that the dispute could spiral further and potentially assume an ethnic dimension if not contained.
A man identified as Tirop has also been mentioned in connection with the rising tension, though his exact role remains unclear.
