Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika was on Thursday evening forced to flee for her safety after her public event in Kihoto, Naivasha, turned chaotic when suspected goons stormed the gathering and disrupted the proceedings.
The governor had been on an official visit to Kihoto Estate in Naivasha Town, one of the areas most affected by flooding due to the rising water levels of Lake Naivasha. She was accompanied by senior county officials who joined her in inspecting the flooded zones and meeting residents to assess the situation firsthand.
Residents from nearby wards had also gathered in large numbers to listen to the governor’s address. During her speech, Kihika assured locals that the county government would organize transport for those who wished to return to their homes and promised to give each person financial support to help cover their fare.
However, moments after she completed her address, confusion and tension erupted when a group of rowdy youths began hurling stones and attacking people in what appeared to be an attempt to reach the governor.
Her security detail quickly surrounded her, shielding her from the attackers and rushing her away from the scene to safety.
As panic spread among the crowd, chaos intensified along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, where two vehicles — a private car and a trailer — were set ablaze by unknown individuals.
Police officers who were present at the event struggled to contain the situation. Despite firing several gunshots into the air to disperse the mob, the goons continued to cause destruction and even pelted stones at the governor’s convoy.
Before the unrest began, Governor Kihika had been outlining several measures her administration had put in place to help families affected by the floods. She announced plans to deploy additional tippers to assist in the evacuation of residents and transport them to safer locations.
The governor also revealed that more lorries and boats would be provided to rescue people whose homes had been submerged by the rising waters. So far, she said, over 2,000 residents had already been successfully evacuated from danger.
To ensure better coordination of the ongoing rescue operations, Kihika announced the creation of a special committee made up of representatives from the County Government, National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO), and members of the clergy.
“This committee will be in charge of evacuation, transportation, provision of shelter, and food distribution for affected families,” she stated. “I have also appealed to churches and schools in the area to open their doors and offer temporary shelter to those displaced by the floods.”
The governor further called on local companies and corporate organizations operating in Naivasha to step in and offer any form of assistance they could provide.
She also appealed to landlords in neighboring estates not to take advantage of the situation by raising rent prices for families that had been forced to relocate due to the disaster.
Governor Kihika emphasized that her administration was committed to ensuring that all displaced residents received help promptly and that normalcy would be restored in the affected areas as soon as possible.
The incident, however, left many locals shaken, with several calling on security agencies to investigate the chaos and bring those responsible for the violence and destruction to book.
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