Find out about the 20 teams formed to manage NASA demos as swearing-in edges closer

At least 20 rescue teams will be formed in Kisumu’s 20 most volatile areas to ensure National Super Alliance (NASA) protests against perceived electoral injustices “are peaceful and held within strict confines of the law”.

This is expected to eliminate violent confrontations with riot police who have been accused of using excessive force in past protests.

“The formation of this Voluntary Rescue Team has been necessitated by acts of lawlessness that have been witnessed in the recent past where criminals masquerading as demonstrators have run amok and caused destruction to property, barricaded roads and robbed innocent citizens,” said Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.

The rescue teams will be tasked with ensuring that those blocking roads and looting property during protests bear individual culpability to eliminate blanket condemnation of NASA followers. This is expected to spark economic recovery in the lakeside city by restoring investor confidence.

Peace strategy

Kisumu serves as the headquarters of a regional bloc, bringing together 14 counties in the larger western region and the peace strategy comes as members move to drive economic growth and regional integration.

Prof Nyong’o’s deputy Mathews Owili said they had met the business community, youth leaders and central security agencies to iron out issues that spark violence and hurt the economy.

“We want to continue agitating for good governance but also secure our well-being. We want the economy to run normally so our people can have food on their tables and a return on investment for our investors,” said Dr Owili during a KTN News TV show yesterday morning.

Over the past three months, when NASA staged protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, business was interrupted in Kisumu.

The county’s revenue streams were not spared as calls for peaceful week-long demos were ignored.

Nyong’o was faced with having to balance between leading the demonstrations, which had failed to remain peaceful, and safeguarding the economy, which continued to take a beating. Even calls by NASA chief Raila Odinga for peaceful demos failed to yield fruit.

The peace calls come ahead of a much-anticipated announcement by NASA leaders on the way forward, after the Supreme Court upheld President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election last week.

The Kisumu business community has lost at least Sh100 million due to the current political crisis and the figure could rise if the situation persists.

Yesterday, county leaders called on the national government and Opposition leaders to embrace dialogue to end the crisis.

Political crisis

Addressing journalists in Kisumu, they said they were worried about the unfolding political crisis.

“When the economy of Kisumu County is shut down, the national economy will feel the ripple effect. So we can’t assume all is well when Kisumu is burning,” said the deputy governor.

The county leaders said political uncertainty was also taking a toll on the region’s social fabric.