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Nyachae blames ODM
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 25 September 2007 17:58
Taken sides
The Ford-P national executive council, which met in Nairobi, further put the media on the spot over the coverage of the lead-up to the General Election arguing that it had taken sides. Speaking for the first time — and at length — about the incident in which ODM Pentagon member William Ruto and South Mugirango MP were injured, Mr Nyachae submitted that the movement had decided to disrupt his political activities in Kisii. That decision, he said, was made by ODM leaders after Ford-P declared that it will support the re-election of President Kibaki more than a week ago at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC).
“ODM consulted among themselves and decided to disrupt my meetings; that they will tell people not to support an empty shell because I will not run for the Presidency,” he said. The Roads minister was giving his side of the Friday incident during which police officers shot in the air to disperse rowdy youths who had forced Mr Ruto and Mr Magara to flee from the fund-raiser organised by Ford-P leaders from South Mugirango.
As they fled from the youths, Mr Ruto sustained injuries to the knee, while Mr Magara received injuries to the leg and hand. They spent two days at the Nairobi Hospital and have been discharged.
The incident generated an exchange of words between the Government and ODM with the leaders of the former led by their Presidential candidate demanding that Mr Nyachae should be sacked and arrested.
But yesterday, the Ford-P leader turned the heat on ODM, arguing that they had planed to disrupt his rallies in the coming campaigns and warned that his party will not give in to the intimidation. He said the plot was meant to ensure the entire Nyanza Province supports ODM. He listed as examples the heckling of ODM-Kenya flag bearer Kalonzo Musyoka in Mombasa and Busia; the attack on assistant minister Koigi Wamwere and Lang’ata Parliamentary aspirants Stanley Livondo and Ndura Waruinge in Kibera and Ms Nazlin Umar in Kisumu.
“Is Nyachae to blame for these cases? Why have you the media not highlighted them as much? You have the duty of telling Kenyans whose youths they were,” he stated. The Nyaribari Chache MP said he was against attempts by ODM to use force to zone out Nyanza from other parties except ODM. Mr Nyachae accused Mr Ruto and Mr Magara of trying to interfere with a meeting of Ford-P where they had not been invited by the organisers of the event led by East African Legislative Assembly member Reuben Oyondi.
