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Elders and elected leaders in President William Ruto’s home turf of Uasin Gishu County want the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to expedite investigations into looters who took advantage of Gen Z protests to destroy national and county government properties worth Sh500 million in the region.

The elders and leaders who met under the auspices of Uasin Gishu Peace Forum in Eldoret town, say there is enough evidence on CCTVs showing perpetrators of the vice in action during last Tuesday’s anti-Finance Bill countrywide protests.

Led by the forum chairman Rev Timothy Bamai and Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, they defended the hundreds of the protesters saying that they were exercising their democratic rights to picket over a worthy cause.

Anti-Finance Bill demos

They, however, castigated a section of the youths with criminal intent for taking advantage of the peaceful anti-Finance Bill 2024 to engage in looting and destruction of property in the town’s Central Business District.

“We are calling on the police officers attached to the DCI to move with speed and apprehend those behind the mayhem that was caused on national and county government property estimated at Sh500 million,” said Bamai.

The rowdy youths stormed the county government office and looted all the computers at the Information and Communication Technology office before setting it on fire.

Their next target was the Judiciary where the youths armed with jerricans of petrol set on fire the law court adjacent to the governor’s office reducing all the files to ashes.

The meeting held at the Reformed Church of East Africa Hall in Eldoret was also attended by MPs Janet Sitienei (Turbo), David Kiplagat (Soy) and Julius Rutto (Kesses).

Mandago took issue with the church for using the pulpit to call for President Ruto’s resignation over the anti-government protests that led to loss of people’s lives and property terming such utterances as dangerous to the unity and stability of the country.

He instead advised the clergy to use the pulpit to preach dialogue and also to impress upon the youths to abstain from engaging in acts that can plunge the country into anarchy.

“Church leaders should stop elevating us when we come to your churches every Sunday. We are being made more important than even God,” said Mandago.