An irate landlord has locked the Ichuni Ward offices in Kisii County over months of unpaid rent, leaving residents without a physical centre for accessing essential county services.
The office has reportedly remained closed for the past ten months, forcing residents seeking assistance from ward officials to wait in open spaces, including roadsides, to have their issues addressed.
Area MCA Wycliffe Siocha has described the situation as grotesque and shameful, appealing to Governor Simba Arati to intervene and ensure the outstanding rent is paid so that the office can reopen.
Mr Siocha said residents had been unfairly denied services because of the county government’s failure to settle the arrears.
“My people have been denied services because the office has been closed for the last ten months by the landlord over rent arrears. I am appealing to the governor to intervene and clear the arrears,” he said.
The closure has angered residents, who say the ward office is an important link between them and the county administration and should remain operational.
The current office was established after the first ward office was demolished when it was discovered that it had been constructed on private land.
On Friday, residents expressed frustration over the prolonged closure, saying they should not be made to suffer because of a dispute between the county government and its landlord.
“It is frustrating to walk to the ward office only to find it locked. We elected leaders to bring services closer to us, but now even a simple ward office cannot remain open,” said resident John Omboga.
Another resident, Grace Moraa, said the closure had made it difficult for residents to follow up on county programmes and administrative matters.
“We are being sent from one office to another whenever we need help. The ward office was supposed to make things easier for us. We want the county government to pay the rent and reopen it,” she said.
John Getutwa questioned why the county administration had allowed the arrears to accumulate for such a long period.
“Ten months is too long. If there was a problem with the landlord or the payment process, it should have been resolved long ago. We are the ones suffering because of this delay,” he said.
Mr Siocha said the prolonged closure was undermining devolution because residents were being denied services at the very level where government was expected to be most accessible.
“It is unacceptable that an entire ward office can remain closed for ten months because of unpaid rent. Ichuni residents deserve uninterrupted services,” he said.
The MCA urged Governor Arati to treat the matter as an emergency and direct the relevant county departments to clear the arrears and facilitate the reopening of the office.
He warned that continued closure could further frustrate residents and erode confidence in the county administration.
Residents are now demanding an urgent resolution to the dispute, saying the ward office should be reopened before the disruption becomes a permanent feature of service delivery in Ichuni.
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