Writes Leo Odera Omolo
WITHIN the brief spell of two months, there have been serious incidents involving violent disruption of public gatherings either at funeral homes or political rallies inside Luo-Nyanza.
This is the region where the ODM arguably has the largest following and support. Of course there are no any other competing political parties, which are rivaling the ODM in this region to warrant such magnitude of violence
However, all these incidents involving breach of peace and tranquility are all pointing to the direction of the shape of things to come during the impending general election schedule for March 4, 2013.
What happened at Homa-Bay Town last weekend was the most shameful act of lawlessness and political thuggery, which the ODM leadership must urgently brainstorm together and make the concerted effort to weed out such unbecoming behaviors of its leaders at branches levels, supporters and MPs included before the situation got out of hands or before precious lives are lost.
The Homa-Bay rally last Sunday was called for the purpose of “Mashinani Campaign” for the popularization of party leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid in the next year. Presidential election slated for Mach 4,2013.
A similar meeting was held in Kisumu City last Saturday at a field next to the ODM offices, located next t0 Tuskies Supermarket It ended peacefully and all the delegates from the entire Kisumu County who attended the meeting dispersed and went home peacefully.
Instead of campaigning to popularizing the Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Home-Bay rally was turned into the battle ground in which crude weapons such as knives were used causing bodily injuries to score of unspecified numbers of people who went home while nursing their wounds.
Within a brief spell of time and within the last two months, there have been several incidents in which VIP were forced to fled the venue of public functions either funeral gatherings or political rallies as the result of skirmishes and disruptions caused by hired political goons.
These incidence could be chronicled as follows; A man was spotted flushing a sharpened machete [panga] at a political campaign addressed by the Finance Assistant Minister Dr.Oburu Oginga in Siaya town
The Ministers body guards and supporters wrestled the man to the ground disarmed him .He was arrested and taken into police custody. But within minutes another gang of nine drunken goons emerged and made an abortive attempt to storm the police station with the aims of freeing their friend who had been taken into custody there causing anther commotion in which the police applied full force and overcome the youth who were numbering nine and took them into custody
At Kolwa East Ward within Kisumu Muncipality, the ODM MP for Kisumu Town East Shakeel Ahmed Shabbir caused another commotion at funeral church service, The MP’s security details drew their guns while the other mourners were struggling with the MP and trying to force back to his car.
During the commotion the gun rang and one youth was hit in the leg by a stray bullet. It was not clear as to whether the bullet had been fired by one of the MP’s armed security guards or the bullet went off accidentally during the commotion. The bullet which was lodged in the victim body or two days was later remove at the New Nyanza General Hospital following a surgery operations carried out by Dr. Otieno Obondi
The MP has since fiercely denied that any shooting occurred as the result of the commotion caused by him, though several eye witnesses have confirmed the incident. So far n arrest has been made, though the doctor has kept the bullet which he had removed from the youth’s body in safe custody in case it is needed as an exhibit in court. All this are pointing out to the laxity and complacency on the part of the forces of law reinforcement in the region.
,In the same month the Education Assistant Minister Prof.Patrick Ayiecho Olueny, was forced out of a funeral home where other mourners also took to their heels and scampered in all directions for their dear lives.
The Minister who is also the MP for Muhoroni had gone to attend the burial of the brother of the chairman of Nyando County Council Samuel Onyango Ong’ou in Wang’aya Location within Kisumu County.This area falls under Muhoroni constituency.
The trouble stated after the triumphant arrival of the populist aspirant for Muhoroni James Onyango K’Oyoo who was accompanied by close to 300 youths almost bringing the burial ceremony to a standstill. The MP made futile attempt to calm the situation, but in vain and sensing the danger that the situation could get out of hand also fled the venue followed by his armed body guards amid hails of stones.
In all these incidences, nobody has so far appeared before any court of law to answer criminal charge of causing disturbances in a manner likely to cause the breach of peace. And all these are pointing at the laxity and complacency on the part of the forces of the la reinforcement operating in Nyanza region.
Back to the last Sunday ugly incident which took place at Homa-Bay town, the conveners of the rally stands blamed for poor organization and lack foresight in that they allowed the otherwise and become platform for the introduction of aspirants vying for the various elective positions with the County governance, parliament, Senatorial and governorship as well as civic County Wards
The party leaders in the Homa-County branch who were the joint convener of the meeting had allowed the “ODM Mashinani Campaign’ rally to be used by aspirant vying for the various elective positions as their platform deviating from the original agenda of the meeting, which was mainly and specifically to campaign for Raila Odinga presidential bid.
It also exposed a lot of weaknesses within the party leadership at the grass root structures. There are still many disputes involving the various grass root leadership which have remained unresolved for years. This is what caused the skirmishes at the VIP dais, and started exchanging fists blows.
The two constituencies of Kabondo-Kasipul and Kasipul send two school buses full of youths estimated to be numbering about 150,000 while five other constituencies posted eight delegates each.
The two school buses, one from Wang’apala High School In Kabondo and other from Nyang’iela secondary school I West Kasipul ferried the youths from Oyugis to Homa-Bay. Other had travelled in the CDF van and in a four-wheel drive second hand Pajero van owned by the area MP Joseph Oyugi Magwanga and machetes and other crude weapons. In some account of eye witnesses the group of youths who travelled from Oyugis town to Homa-Bay Town were heard singing war-mongering songs as the uses snaked through Rangwe, Rodi Kopany and to Homa-Bay Town.
And as if the commotion and skirmishes a Home-bay were not enough, the group drove back to Oyugis and immediately launched a full scale hunt for the people they perceived to mall cafeteria owned by one of the potential opponent hey were on a mission hunting do those opposed to the MP’s leadership for the owner of the cafeteria.
The general elections are still five months away, and if the ODM could allow political thuggery of this magnitude in its stronghold area where there is stiff opposition, then this could plunge the country into a distasteful condition of mayhem and anarchy.
There are several dangerous spots inside Luo-Nyanza and Rachuonyo South, particularly in the newly created constituency of Kabondo Kasipul and the older electoral area of Kasipul. Hundreds of goons are roaming menacingly in Oyugis town and its environs.
ODM need to crack its whip and ensure that those its leaders who are conducting the war-like political activities thereby endangering the lives of innocent citizens are banned and barred from contesting the election on its ticket.
Ends