The 2007 post-election, in which more than 1,500 people were killed and 600,000 evicted from their homes and farms, remains the worst ethnic violence since independence six decades ago.

The bloodletting stunned the nation, in which the people’s right to live and work anywhere in the country is entrenched in the Constitution.

However, the ethnic clashes scourge persists despite the leaders’ vow that such bloodletting would never again be allowed to rear its ugly head. It’s a shame that an apparently ethnic conflict is happening once again, this time on the Narok-Nakuru counties’ border, and yet the country has not fully recovered from the 2008 post-election mayhem.

Tension remains high in the Mwisho wa Lami area after several homes were torched in the past few days, escalating clashes between two communities. Eight people were seriously injured, and one was hospitalised. Fear has gripped families, with many children too terrified to go to school. The attackers have also driven away livestock after looting and destroying property.

The clashes are believed to have been sparked by protests and the barricading of roads last Friday over a two-month electricity blackout. A dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the authorities in the two counties should help to contain the violence as police have been deployed to enforce law and order.

Every Kenyan has a constitutional right to live and work anywhere in the country, but all must endeavour to promote harmony with their neighbours.

Criminals should not be allowed to take advantage of the flare-up of violence on the Narok-Nakuru counties border for their devious ends. They must be rounded up and arraigned, and those found guilty appropriately punished.

The authorities should act speedily and firmly to quell the violence that is a sad reminder of past deadly tribal clashes. The government has the constitutional mandate and duty to protect lives and property.