THE REPORTED ALLEGED ATTACK ON JOURNALISTS IN OYUGIS TOWN WHILE INVESTIGATING A DEFILEMENT CASE WAS NOT TRUE BUT A FAILED BOTCHED EXTORTION MISSION,

Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Oyugis Town

The highly highlighted incident which took place last week at Oyugis Town in which for journalists who were on an investigative mission to probe the lead story of defilement was blown out of proportion and should’t have attracted such widest publicity.

It has been established beyond any reasonable doubt that the incident in question which attracted sharp reaction and wholesale condemnation from certain quarters was nothing more than a case which only fit into description of “Stranger than fiction.”

Among hose who strongly and unreservedly condemned he incident was the outspoken Oloo Janak who called upon the government to ensure that journalists were free to go about their duties unhindered.

The other reaction came fro the Kasipul-Kabondo MP Oyugi Maguwanga in whose constituency covered Oyugis Town where the alleged attack took place in Rachuonyo district within Homa-Bay County.

The legislator termed the incident as an infringement of human rights and asked the government o accord the journalists with maximum security protection so that they can go about their work unhindered.

It was reported that the for journalists Otieno Owida, Ouko Okusa, Brianb Yonga and Tom Otieno all of the Nation Media Group were reported to have gone to Oyugis Town to conduct an on the spot investigation in a case where a Form Two school girl who is a student in one of the local secondary school had been defiled by a politician who is an aspirant in the Kasipul-Kabondo parliamentary constituency and that the newsmen were attacked by the supporter of the politician.

What has emerged is that before the journalists visited Oyugis, unknown persons had sent some shocking and heart-throbbing SMS messages through the mobile phone of the politician whose name was adversely mentioned in relation to the alleged defilement case.

The sender of the SMS messages had asked the politician to coff-out a colossal amount of money to the tune of Kshs 250,000 so that the alleged adverse maliciously damaging story incriminating his name with the alleged defilement case could not find its way into to the newspaper columns.The politician whose name cannot be mention due to legal complications was told be the sender of the SMS message that the story if published would ruin him destroy his future as a politician and a parliamentary aspirant.

At first the politician said he ignored the message and treated as a common case of extortion.But he quickly changed his mind and contacted some of his supporters who were roaming about within Oyugis Town to conduct investigations to find out what was going on.

His men went into town and strategically stationed themselves inside a bar which is owned by one of the journalists.However, within minutes the team of journalists pulled up in a newspaper omany van and parked it outside the bar.

They were accompanied by a woman who immediately stared consuming beer. The woman had come with her daughter who is ageing about 18 years and who was in full school uniform.

This the girl who it was being alleged had been defiled by the politician. The battery of journalists then set their cameras and video tape recorders and began interviewing the girl and her mother separately on different tables.

The supporters of the politician who had earlier taken position in strategic corners with the bar then swung into action protesting against the presence of the girl in school uniform in the pub.

It was then when the shouting match started inside the bar, attracting the attention of a large number of onlookers who move close threatening to beat u the journalist, while alleging that they had been bought by the politicn’s opponents to discredit him.

Sensing that they were outnumbered, the newsmen took to their heels and drove out in high speed leaving he woman her daughter behind.

The woman who is a widow and having difficulty in raising school fees for her daughter has since admitted that he was lured into the conspiracy after one of the journalists had told her that they would publish the story of her daughter’s claims sensitize her plight and this could attract some donor agencies who could come to hi id. She alleged that the group had told her that the donor agencies would donate Ksh 200,000 for her daughter’s further education and even purchase the solar light and have it installed in her home.

The woman readily admitted that the politician in question was a member of her close family, and that on various occasions she has been working for the politician helping him as one of the cooks whenever the politician had visitors in his homestead.

It later emerged that the defilement story had been manufactured by the rivals of the politician and their agents with the aims and objective of discrediting the politician so that his popularity within the community could e adversely affected.

The incumbent MP Oyugi Maguwanga is one of he two leading contenders for the newly created Kasipul parliamentary seat which was hived out of the old Kasipul-Kabondo by the Interim Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission {IEBC as one of the 89 new additional parliamentary seats countrywide.

Residents of Oyugis Town and its environ spoke scarcely about many incidents of”dirty campaigns involving several aspirants competing for the same seat. They have hired many goons who re engaged in spreading all sorts’ malicious rumors after rumors against those perceived to be credible opponents.

The residents were only wondering as to what interests should journalists from a reputed media house get themselves into the murky constituency politics in Kasipul. And should they act at the behest of opponents of the politician in question. On question which is still lingering in the minds of many people within the locality included; who invited he newsmen all the way from Kisumu to Oyugis?

If there was a genuine of defilement, the family of the girl should have reported the incident to the Oyugis Police Station who in turn could have ordered for the medical examination of the victim.

The local view the whole episode as the botched extortion mission, which failed badly and simply reduced the scribes as “greedy mercenaries” for hire.

The journalists had acted like local political hirelings.

Reached on phone the politician, whose name had featured prominently in the botched case of naked extortion, said he knew all along that his rivals were busy at work planning dirty tricks to soil his name. He vowed that he was soldiering on with his parliamentary ambition and he is not cowed by the dirty tricks and will meet his rivals at the ballot box in March next year. He only

request for their kindness to conduct clean and gentlemen campaign

Meanwhile the ODM branch in the region has taken up the matter and threatens to discipline whoever is involved in slanderous campaign targeting his or her opponent for character assassination.

The ODM officials in the region want the police to investigate the incident to its best conclusion.

Ends