Marioshoni arson attack stirs rumours of ethnic tension in Molo

A fire and destruction of property reported in Marioshoni, Molo Sub-County, have triggered competing accounts of what happened, with some political leaders and social media users linking the incident to the country’s political climate while others have disputed the characterization.

The incident has drawn particular attention because Molo is one of the areas affected by the 2007/08 post-election violence, with leaders warning against a return to the tensions witnessed nearly two decades ago.

Jubilee Party has condemned the incident, calling for those responsible for the violence and those who financed it to be held to account.

In a statement, the party says the violence should not be allowed to recreate the events of 2007, while calling on authorities to move swiftly against those responsible.

“Kenya's communities have coexisted, intermarried, traded, and built shared futures across generations in Mariashoni and across the wider Rift Valley. That such neighbors can be turned against one another is never an accident of history. It is, time and again, the product of incitement, manipulation, and the reckless pursuit of narrow political advantage by individuals entrusted with leadership,” the statement reads.

It goes on to say that Jubilee Party unequivocally condemns any leader, of whatever standing, who chooses to sow ethnic division for personal or political gain. Those who incite communities against each other are not leaders; they are merchants of chaos, and history will not absolve them.

“We hold that ethnicity must never again be weaponized in this country. Kenya paid too dear a price in 2007/2008, and in the recurrent cycles of land-related violence that have scarred the region over the years, to permit any leader to gamble with the peace of our people. Those who play with fire in Mariashoni today are playing with the soul of this nation,” it says.

Similar concerns were raised by several users online. One Facebook user named Hon Mwaura Mukami says: “We must NEVER re-create 2007,” while condemning what he described as violence in Mariashoni and calling for the apprehension of both the perpetrators and financiers.

The incident has also generated a divided reaction on social media, with some users interpreting it as a politically motivated incident while others disputed the reports, with some describing them as propaganda.

However, Marioshoni MCA Bernard Langat has urged the government and residents to avoid viewing the incident purely through a political lens, saying the area has been grappling with land-related disputes since 2024.

Langat condemns the destruction of property and burning of houses, and calls on security agencies to intervene against what he describes as the forcible seizure of private land and construction on disputed parcels.

 “We do not want a recurrence of the events of 2007. As their leader, I am deeply concerned, because all these people are my own,” he says.

Langat also calls for increased security in the area, including the establishment of a security post or deployment of units such as the General Service Unit.

“We ask our government to set up a GSU post there or deploy security personnel so that security can be maintained there. Furthermore, if someone has a dispute regarding land, there are legal channels to follow. One should not simply forcibly seize another person’s land. Justice must prevail,” he says. “But entering someone’s land and seizing it or building on it under the guise of claiming it as your own is something we will not accept.”

He says land disputes should be handled through established legal channels rather than through force.