Protests in Kisumu Over Monument

According to the residents, the presence of the monument in the town is a bad sign and they are now asking the County leadership to stop putting it up in the CBD.

The residents’ opposition is due to what they describe as a sign of idol worship in the society.

For the second day now, business in the area was brought to a standstill as the police used teargas to disperse the rowdy crowd which wanted to burn down the monument.

According to Kisumu's Sikh Chairman Siri Guru Sabha Charjeet Hayer, the monument was put up in commemoration of 100 years of Sikh presence in the region.

Hayer says the monument has nothing to do with religion and appealed to both Christians and Asians to live in peace and harmony.

He further reiterated that Asians are celebrating their ancestors who first arrived in Kisumu in the early 1901 and nobody should associate it with idolatry.

According to the County Police Commander David Ngetich, several youths were arrested in connection with the protests.

So far no casualties have been reported.

The police are however warning the residents against in form of violence.

By Diana Kariuki