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Chaos as police confront Ngilu
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 07 July 2007 07:20
Mrs Ngilu had gone to the border with the intention of entering the district to campaign, but was stopped by police with cocked guns aimed at her convoy at the border. President Moi on Thursday declared the area a security operation zone out of bounds to outsiders.
Mrs Ngilu then rushed back to the Kisii Police Station, to report that she had been almost shot by police.
Inside the report office, the station boss refused to take her statement and referred her to the divisional police boss in Gucha, Mr Peter Kimani. She came out protesting and started addressing a large crowd that had formed outside the station.
Mrs Ngilu was accompanied by local and international journalists and all her parliamentary and civic aspirants from the three districts. She claimed that her life was in danger and accused President Moi, the Kanu candidate, of harassing and frustrating her.
As she spoke, the station chief ordered police to throw tear gas at the crowd, plunging the town into chaos. A stampede started which lasted 40 minutes. Some of the party supporters engaged police in stone-throwing near a petrol station. The station had to be temporarily closed because of the c ommotion.
Mrs Ngilu addressed another crowd outside the Kisii Barclays Bank branch as police charged from behind and threw more tear gas canisters.
"We were going to the border, following a report that three people had been killed last night and several others injured, one of whom I took to hospital this morning, but we were blocked and nearly killed by policemen!" Mrs Ngilu said.
As the crowd resisted, police in their hundreds arrived when the station commander, Mr L.P. Macharia, raised the police alarm and started chasing people in the town's streets.
Members of the public and journalists scampering for safety into the Kisii DC's office got a rude shock when the Administration Police officers at the gate beat them with rungus.
One of Mrs Ngilu's bodyguards was bludgeoned and almost fell off the car as he tried to shield her. Mrs Ngilu alleged that the official security detail assigned to her watched as she was pushed and harassed.
The SDP presidential candidate had to take cover at the Kisii Mobil petrol station as police officers threw tear gas canisters. She later drove off towards Keroka, where a crowd was waiting for her.
The Kisii police boss, Mr Gilbert Manyara, had earlier interrupted Mrs Ngilu as she drove out of the police station and told her to "avoid introducing confrontational" issues in her campaigns.
Meanwhile, Mr Kibaki and his motorcade managed to escape a police dragnet and address three rallies on the common border within Nyaribari Constituency, Kisii District, which is part of the security zone.
Mr Kibaki accused the Kanu Government of perpetuating the tribal clashes at the borders in order to scare away voters. He addressed rallies at Ramasha, Suguta, Ikorongo, Gesusu and Geteri. He urged those who had lost their relatives in the clashes to vote out Kanu to restore peace along the com mon border.
At Keroka Town, he said that even after President Moi had declared the common border a security zone, a number of people were killed at Nyangusu and others seriously injured.
