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Showdown is looming in Kakamega town as tension rises over the Edwin Sifuna-led ‘Linda Mwananchi’ political rally in Amalemba.
This is after two opposing groups, one supporting the Linda Mwananchi tour and the other the Broad-based wing, took to the streets of Kakamega town in a show of solidarity.
At around 9am, the supporters of two groups had poured into the streets in branded T-shirts and placards in support of ‘One Term’ championed by Sifuna and ‘Two-Term’ slogan spearheaded by President William Ruto’s allies and ODM leader Oburu Oginga.
However, the heavy presence of police officers was visible in Kakamega town, with police taking cover in strategic positions along the Kakamega-Kisumu highway, considering the Linda Mwananchi rally will be taking place just a kilometre away from the town.
Earlier in the morning, supporters of Sifuna at Amalemba Grounds chased away a private vehicle with police officers suspected of planning to disrupt the meeting, forcing the officers to lob teargas canisters at the supporters who scampered for safety.
Interestingly, supporters of the two factions were seen armed with huge sticks to try to protect their political wings.
At Amalemba Grounds, supporters of Sifuna’s team managed to keep police officers away from the venue, vowing to provide security by themselves.
On Friday, police had disowned today’s rally by Sifuna, saying that the conveners of the meeting had not formally notified security agencies.
Addressing the Media in his office, Western Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said they had not received any formal request from Sifuna and his team to hold the rally, maintaining that they were ready to deal with an attempt that threatens the stability, peace and safety of locals and their properties.
“We have heard that we will have a rally tomorrow in Kakamega at Amalemba led by Senator of Nairobi Sifuna and his faction, and that is what we got through the social media, and I have not met anybody talking about the rally or coming to my office to request for our assistance but we will assist them as much as we can,” said Mohamud.
He added, “I don’t want to speculate on what will happen, but where there will be a problem, we will step in and contain it. I have not seen any leader coming to my office for permission to carry out the rally and requesting our assistance, and we will disperse the gathering if it breaks the existing laws of the country.”
The regional police boss dismissed the authenticity of some of the posts on social media where some politicians were accused of plotting to disrupt the meeting, stating that the accusations and counteraccusations are purely political games.
“I have heard of accusations and counter accusations on social media of alleged plans by various politicians to disrupt the rally and as police we are not part of politics and therefore, I cannot authoritatively speak on that, ours is purely to maintain peace and we will use and apply any means possible within our reach to ensure there is peace and zero lawlessness because we cannot accept our country to go down,” said Mohamud.
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Showdown is looming in Kakamega town as tension rises over the Edwin Sifuna-led ‘Linda Mwananchi’ political rally in Amalemba.
This is after two opposing groups, one supporting the Linda Mwananchi tour and the other the Broad-based wing, took to the streets of Kakamega town in a show of solidarity.
At around 9am, the supporters of two groups had poured into the streets in branded T-shirts and placards in support of ‘One Term’ championed by Sifuna and ‘Two-Term’ slogan spearheaded by President William Ruto’s allies and ODM leader Oburu Oginga.
However, the heavy presence of police officers was visible in Kakamega town, with police taking cover in strategic positions along the Kakamega-Kisumu highway, considering the Linda Mwananchi rally will be taking place just a kilometre away from the town.
Earlier in the morning, supporters of Sifuna at Amalemba Grounds chased away a private vehicle with police officers suspected of planning to disrupt the meeting, forcing the officers to lob teargas canisters at the supporters who scampered for safety.
Interestingly, supporters of the two factions were seen armed with huge sticks to try to protect their political wings.
At Amalemba Grounds, supporters of Sifuna’s team managed to keep police officers away from the venue, vowing to provide security by themselves.
On Friday, police had disowned today’s rally by Sifuna, saying that the conveners of the meeting had not formally notified security agencies.
Addressing the Media in his office, Western Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said they had not received any formal request from Sifuna and his team to hold the rally, maintaining that they were ready to deal with an attempt that threatens the stability, peace and safety of locals and their properties.
“We have heard that we will have a rally tomorrow in Kakamega at Amalemba led by Senator of Nairobi Sifuna and his faction, and that is what we got through the social media, and I have not met anybody talking about the rally or coming to my office to request for our assistance but we will assist them as much as we can,” said Mohamud.
He added, “I don’t want to speculate on what will happen, but where there will be a problem, we will step in and contain it. I have not seen any leader coming to my office for permission to carry out the rally and requesting our assistance, and we will disperse the gathering if it breaks the existing laws of the country.”
“I have heard of accusations and counter accusations on social media of alleged plans by various politicians to disrupt the rally and as police we are not part of politics and therefore, I cannot authoritatively speak on that, ours is purely to maintain peace and we will use and apply any means possible within our reach to ensure there is peace and zero lawlessness because we cannot accept our country to go down,” said Mohamud.
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By Bernard Lusigi