Bomet residents Protest, demanding removal of Governor Barchok… Bomet Town experienced a disruption of services on Wednesday morning as residents held demonstrations, calling for the resignation of Governor Hillary Barchok. Frustrated locals set bonfires along Bomet Highway, making the crucial route that links Bomet to Kericho and Nakuru Counties impassable.
In their protests, the residents accused the governor of misappropriation of county funds, thus demanding his immediate ouster from office. Police officers who were on high alert were forced to intervene and restrain the rowdy mob who threatened to storm Barchok’s office.
Bomet residents Protest, Police Fired Teargas
Police officers block demonstrators from accessing road leading to Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok’s office on February 7, 2024 PHOTO SAYAAFRICA
The officers were forced to lob teargas to disperse the protestors. During the protests, police managed to arrest one person who is alleged to have been part of a group of local political activists who planned the demonstrations. While expressing their fury, the residents vowed not to back down until they received an explanation of how County funds allocated for specific stalled projects were spent.
In November last year, Governor Barchok appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ to explain the County’s pending bills that had allegedly been inflated by Ksh204 million.
The two-term governor was also tasked to explain why several projects worth Ksh1 billion had stalled. Barchok however, attributed the figures to false claims and manufactured documents, noting that he was in the process of verifying the allegations.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her report disclosed that the County had stated its pending bills amounted to Ksh842.39 million yet in reality, the figures showed Ksh637.43 million, thus creating a variance of Ksh204 million. The details emerged during the questioning of the governor over audit queries for the financial year ending June 2021.
Source: Kenyans
