Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Kakamega Town
A public rally organized in the Western Kenya town of Kakamega to drum the support for the Reds groups in the campaign against the proposed constitution turned chaotic.
One school boy suffered serious head injury while scores were hurt as supporters of the No and Yes camp exchanged missiles and stones in street battles after the meeting which was held at the historic Masinde Muliro garden ended prematurely following booing and intensive heckling.
Kenya’s Higher Education Minister William Ruto in the company of the Information Minister Samuel Pogisho and a dozen of MPs who are leading the proponents of No group, which is against the proposed constitution had turned up in style and mistook the huge crowd of people waiting at the venue to be their supporters..
However, matters turned out to be the worse immediately the group climbed up on the podium ready to address the huge crowd. They were greeted with heckling booing and cat calls which marred the otherwise well attended rally.
The crowd began walking away. Other run helter scatter in different direction of the town, which is the administrative headquarters of Kenya’s agriculturally rich Western Province. The huge crowd went away singing and dancing in the streets branding the group “Liars” even before giving the Minister a chance of hearing what message they had brought with them.
Higher Education Minister William Ruto was heckled and booed before the crowd walking away from the venue.
His Information counterpart Samuel Pogisho,Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo,Belgut MP Charles Keter,Cherangany Mp Joshua Kutuny, were also heckled and shouted down by the crowd, which gave them no chance of delivering their speeches.
Other MPs in the Minister’s entourage who attended the chaos marred rally were Elijah Lagat, Zakayo Cheruiyot,Benjamin Langat’,Lucas Chepkitony,Davd Koech,Peris Simam and Jason Kiptanui all from the Rift Valley Province.
The only Luhyia MP in attendance was Cyrus Jirongo of Lugari constituency.
The trouble had started when Jirongo told the huge crow that the section 67 of the proposed draft constitution would allow same sex marriage if the document was adopted in its current version after the referendum voting on August 4.
The crow roared back in unison disapproval forcing the Lugari MP to switch the topic.The MP then invited his colleague Joshua Kutuny from Cherangany whose antics failed to work the crowd back into the mood.
Jirongo then launched the scathing criticism of the two principals in the grand coalition government President Mwai Kibaki and the Prime Minister Raila Odinga of misleading the public that provincial administration will not be scrapped.
He called on Kuresoi MPO Zakayo Cheruiyot who appeared to have carefully read the mood of the crow and simply said that there is no system of government that can operate smoothly without the provincial administration and quickly sat down. Cheruiyot is the former powerful Permanent Secretary in charge of Internal Security and Provincial Administration in the last KANU administration of the retired President Daniel Arap Moi.
Mp Charles Keter added fuel to the already charged crowd when he told the meeting that Kenyans would be forced to buy napkins for their dogs and cats of the new draft constitution was passed as it is. He further said Kenyans would be forced to build hospitals for dogs.
Information Ministr Samuel Pogisho who took to the podium after Keter received a rude shock when he asked the huge crow if they supported the new constitution and crowd roared back “Yees Yes Yees Yeees.”
The Minister, however, put up a brave face and continued speaking even after his voice was drowned in the roaring voices of YES.The Minister then cut short his speech and invited William Ruto.
And as soon as Ruto stepped up on the platform, the crowd started moving out the venue while the sound of Ye-e-es rent the air. The Yes supporters then poured into the streets with songs and dances in all direction as the labeled the No team “Liars”
On reaching the junction of Kakamega Webuye road near the Somken Fuel Station,the Yes supporters which had by then formed a huge crowd run into No supporters who started throwing stones and the chaos ensued with flying stones and other objects from all directions.
. A youth was hit on the head with the flying object and received medication while other sustained injuries, but fled the venue quickly as the anti-riot police moved in and dispersed the crowd clearing the streets fearing more trouble. It was not immediately possible to access the number of people who sustained bodily injuries in the melee
The Kakamega rally had been called off and postponed on several occasion by Hon Jirongo after realizing the ground was not fertile for such a meeting due to insecurity.
The failure of the No camp to address the huge rally in Kakamega town of them had been ferried in vehicles and matatus from other parts of Western Province now cancelled the Ruto camp claims that they had reasonable support among the Luhyia community.It was a confirmation that the region is fertile for the Yes camp, though the No group had held successful but smaller rallies in Bungoma, Lugari and in other parts of the region.
A member of the team who had attended the aborted rally told this writer that the situation in Western Province is not conducive for the Reds to conduct their campaign peacefully in the region.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
Democracy demands that one is given a chance to state his views even if the majority do not like them.It was therefore wrong for the people to attend the rally and then start heckling as they were not forced to attend.On the same score,both sides, the Ayes and Nays should stick to the chapters in the proposed constitution to put their points across during their campaigns and not to introduce side issues and falsehoods which the nays have perfected.The proposed constitution if passed will be for all Kenyans and not particular groups or individuals.
Its like trying to get a dialogue with hostile apes…..Even though you may have their interest at heart, youd better be careful incase they instinctively attack you when you get too close.
This meeting is an example of hood and hooligan politics. What goes around comes around unortunately. While I may not be a NO fan, I’m concerned that thugs were hired to cause chaos and harm a little boy. That is where I draw the line. While this battle may be won, the war is still yet to be won. We need to make steps in that direction of progress by allowing peaceful discourse and not go ape-like. This is the crux of the matter.
At least they can penetrate Western, but what about Nyanza’s Luoland? Openly, unashamedly and apologetically , both the Yes and No camp leaderships are guilty of discriminating Luoland in their campaigns for and against the draft that promises to bring about equality and equity, perhaps with the belief that people there do vote as told, which is an insult.
Unfortunately even the mainstream media has not noticed, questioned and challenged the camp leaderships on why has been given such a wide berth, just as event, challenges and developments in the region are never reported.
With such treatment, tradition, attitude and contempt by both the local and national leadership and the media, what justice can still be promised?
Silence, complacency and escapism are enemies of development and has remained the community’s undoing, and it is time matters are told and questioned to prompt development and accountability of those in leadership.
I do disagry with what happened at that rally simply because what happened denied many who were willing to hear what that team was preaching whether true or false and that could be also termed as right denial.
i think that it is better for one to keep off the place if he or is against what those people were preaching than to course humm to incent people like that student.Let us show maturity by doing the right thing at the right time.