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State condemns attack on MPs
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 23 September 2007 05:13
He had instructed police to carry out exhaustive investigations and ensure the perpetrators are charged, he added. However, the minister seemed to blame ODM leaders William Ruto and Omingo Magara, who were injured in the attack, for attending a rally to which they had not been invited.
The harambee, he noted, was held under the auspices of the Ford People Development Fund. Explaining the incident, Mr Michuki said the two arrived at the venue in a helicopter as the function got under way. “Incidentally, the two had not been invited to the fundraiser by the organisers. “The arrival caused tension and some youths confronted them wanting to know the purpose of their presence at a Ford People function.”
In the ensuing commotion, Mr Michuki said, Mr Magara’s bodyguard panicked and fired warning shots to scare away the youths “who were menacingly advancing towards the MPs. “This action provoked the youths who then harassed and roughed up the two MPs and those who had accompanied them.” Mr Michuki assured Kenyans that no effort would be spared to make sure the December elections are conducted in a peaceful environment.
President Kibaki, he noted, signed the Peace Charter during the International Peace Day marked last week, in which the Government committed itself to peaceful elections. He urged Kenyans to help the Government to fulfil the commitment by respecting divergent views. “The youth should restrain themselves and shun violence as a form of political expression,” he said. “They should not allow themselves to be used to settle political scores.” Kenya is a modern state, he said, adding that all people should be able to express their views, including political opinions “within the confines of the law” without intimidation. At the rally, police shot in the air to disperse the armed youths who wore red shukas.
