A section of traders at Kibuye Market in Kisumu has accused security agencies and the Kisumu County Government of neglecting their concerns, alleging sustained intimidation, unlawful arrests and harassment linked to an ongoing leadership dispute at the market.
Speaking outside the Winam Law Courts on Monday, the traders, led by market leaders Loftus Adwar and Zacheus Odeny, directly accused Kondele Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Daniel Ogechi of siding with former Kibuye Market leader Judith Matengo Nyaramba to suppress traders opposed to her leadership.
Adwar claimed several traders had been subjected to arbitrary arrests and warned that tensions at the market were escalating due to what he described as official inaction.
“We have been facing challenges in our market for a long time. We have reported these issues to the county government, but nothing has been done. We condemn the unlawful arrests by officers from Kondele Police Station. There is even a list of nine people who are allegedly targeted for arrest. This intimidation is unacceptable. We have been patient, but our patience has run out. Governor Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o should intervene and help us,” Adwar said.
The traders alleged that the harassment stems from their decision to withdraw support from Nyaramba, whom they had previously backed as a market leader. They further claimed that the former official had undue influence over police officers and judicial officers handling cases arising from the dispute.
Another trader, Mary Amolo, condemned what she described as the continued harassment of young traders trying to earn a living. She accused Nyaramba of orchestrating the arrests and warned that traders would boycott paying county taxes unless action is taken.
“We want the county government to remove Nyaramba from the market. If that does not happen, we will stop paying taxes from tomorrow. She has our children arrested even though they are simply doing business. We cannot continue tolerating this,” Amolo said.
The traders’ grievances follow the recent arrest of Erick Obondi and eight other traders, who spent several days in police custody before appearing in court.
Obondi alleged that their troubles began after they severed ties with Nyaramba’s camp. He claimed they were assaulted during the arrest and pressured to withdraw a separate complaint before new criminal charges were preferred against them.
“Our mistake was leaving Nyaramba’s team. We were assaulted and later accused of offences we did not commit. They wanted us to withdraw our case, but when we refused, we were charged with destroying a sack of peppers and assaulting a female trader. We deny those allegations,” Obondi said.
The accused persons were charged with malicious damage to property after allegedly destroying a sack of peppers valued at KSh72,000. They denied the charges before the Winam Law Courts and were released on a cash bail of KSh10,000 each or an alternative bond of KSh100,000 pending the hearing of the case.
Responding to the allegations, Kondele OCS Daniel Ogechi dismissed claims that his office was intimidating traders or taking sides in the market dispute.
“It is not the role of the OCS to open criminal cases or decide who should be prosecuted. Our work is to receive reports and investigate complaints before forwarding files to the relevant authorities. Kondele Police Station serves everyone, and anyone is free to report a complaint,” Ogechi said.
He described the Kibuye Market conflict as largely political and urged traders to concentrate on their businesses rather than engaging in leadership wrangles.
“I have tried to handle the Kibuye Market matter. The issue there is politics. Traders should focus on doing business. My office remains politically neutral,” he added.
Ogechi further rejected claims that he was working with Nyaramba, saying she had also been arrested on previous occasions and that police had issued warrants against her when necessary.
The dispute continues to expose deep divisions among traders at Kibuye Market, with calls growing for intervention by the Kisumu County Government to restore order and prevent further escalation.
