Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Mbita Town

HEAVILY armed criminal thugs waylaid the nomination MP Millie Odhiambo outside Mbita Beach Resort hotel has raised eyebrows of many resident of this sleepy small town.

The puzzling incident took place on Saturday night as the MP and her companions had drove to the hotel gate to drop a colleague who had accompanied them in their tour of rural locations in both Mbitaand Suba districts.

Detailed account of the attack has emerged, which has raised suspicion pointing an accusing finger at some unknown unpatriotic security personnel.

The gun-totting gangsters, according to local residents, had earlier gained entry into the strongly secured and fenced Mbita Beach Resort and held the watchman, and forcing him at gun-point to take him to the manager.

The gangsters appeared to have gotten prior information as to who were the guests at the Resort Hotel on Saturday night. They held both the gate watchman and the hotel manager hostage, forcing them to take them to the guests’ rooms.

In the process the ODM MP Millie Odhiambo and her companion Mrs Mary Onyango the Vice chairperson of National Cohesion and Integration Commission drove to the gate.

They hooted and waited for the watchman to open the gate in vain. The hooting lasted for close to half an hour.

The five thugs, two of them armed with Ak47 assault rifles and two with pistols, emerged from inside the hotel compound.

They brought with them the two hostages, namely the manager and the watchman and abandoned them before jumping over the fence and pounced on Odhiambo and her guest.

The thugs robbed the MP and her companion of all the valuables, money and mobile phones and were not in hurry during the commission of their heinous act.

Miss Odhiambo is said to have paid a brief visit to her mother, Mrs Damaris Odhiambo, who lived nearby and was going to the hotel for the night. They had gone to the hotel to drop one of the guests, who had accompanied the group during a tour of development projects in Mbita and Suba district earlier in the day.

Odhiambo later told a reporter of one of the dailies that the attack came against the background of the information which she had earlier received that two foreign mercenaries from Israel had been sent to kill her.

She had reported this to the Mbita police station and she was provided with security escort to accompany her.

He said the police officer had accompanied them until they were back from their tour and then handed them over to the Mbita OCPD. But immediately after they had dropped the OCPD and were now heading to the hotel when the hell broke out.

A five man gang, armed with two AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols and a sword, struck. They attacked those outside the hotel gate as they waited for 30 minutes for the hotel guard to open the gate for them. As they were waiting and unaware of what is going on, it emerged that at this time the gangsters had already struck ahead of them and held the watch man and the hotel manager hostage at gun-point.

This is why the hotel guard could not open the gate immediately. The gang took them around the room, to show them all the guests. In confusion, the robbers came from inside the hotel, and jumped over the fence to the waiting MP and her colleagues.

It was a strange incident and the first of its kind in Mbita Town and it appeared the gangsters had the prior knowledge of the guests who were expected at the hotel that night. The Mbita OCPD Cheruto Gidhinji confirmed the report and said the police were actively investigating the incident.

However, the chairman of the Suba Council of Elders Mzee Aopplo Okeyo Omuga roundly condemned the attack on the MP saying such a thing has never happened before in Mbita and appealed to the police and Provincial Ad ministration to make a joint effort with the view to stamp out thuggery in the area.

MZee Okeyo Omuga urged the police to hunt down all the suspicious characters. Chiefs, he said should also launch massive manhunt to suspicious characters living in houses located at the various fish landing beaches on both mainland and on Rusinga Island.

Others were quick in pointing out that the attack on the outspoken legislator who is the most eloquent parliamentarian for hidden mischievous purpose which could harmful. It was not an ordinary robbery incident and the government must launch a full scale investigation so as to establish the motive behind it.

Ends