By Team
Twenty days to the by-election for Kasipul constituency, the bad habit of political blood bath has returned to claim two innocents lives and left several people injured during a confrontation between supporters if two leading candidates in Kawere village.
Political thuggery which has been rampant in the constituency for the last one decade has once again returned to rear its ugly face as campaigns reach fever pitch leaving trail of deaths, injuries and destruction of properties.
Subsequently, District Security Committee has summoned all the aspirants to an urgent and crisis meeting to forestall further deaths and contain rising political violence in the area.
On a Thursday, a confrontation ensued between the supporters of the two leading aspirants Boyd Were and Philip Aroko while on campaign trail in Central Kasipul.
Aroko ‘s team claimed that two of his supporters were killed by Were’s team while they were passing nearby where their competitor was holding a meeting.
Were denied the allegations and instead claimed that Aroko was to blame for the confrontation for trying to disrupt his function at a home in the area.
“I was a having a function at a home in Kawere village when Aroko’s team came blaring loud music and making noise with an aim to disrupt our function. In the process, confrontation broke out,” he said.
Were said he reported the incident to the police and that all the aspirants have been summoned for a crisis security meeting.
Aroko when contacted did not respond to our telephone calls and text messages.
During the ODM nomination, goons descended on and destroyed a hospital belonging to aspirant Kepha Ogada.
The goons, said to be allied to one of the aspirants, caused panic at the health facility, forcing patients and medics to flee to safety.
The attack paralyzed medical services at the facility and left property worth hundreds of thousands destroyed.
The Kasipul ODM primaries lived up to expectations as they were rocked by violence, wanton destruction of property and left several people injured.
And now the trend is back, and the violence prone constituency is likely to leave a mark in the country as a leading blood bath area.
Kasipul has been known as violence zone that had left several people killed and maimed had enjoyed a relatively calm moment for the last five months after the assassination of the immediate former MP Charles Ongondo Were in Nairobi.
Before his death, Kasipul had been a war zone pitting the slain MP and his political opponents, which left several people with various injuries and scars.
Ongondo in April before his assassination had alleged and issued a stun warning to a number of politicians and Government and County officials whom he claims of ferrying the “goons” to cause violence in the constituency.
The MP claimed a number of political goons believed to have been terrorizing the region were ferried from other regions.
The MP claimed his political opponents were to blame for high incidences of political thuggery in the area.
Speaking during a press conference, Were said he will not allow such acts to continue.
But former area MP and Homa Bay Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga condemned the incident and asked the police to investigate and arrest those involved incident.
“We cannot allow violence to return to Kapisul. We do not want to have any blood bath in the area. Let the police restore order and peace,” he said.
Magwanga asked the candidates to engage in peaceful campaigns and adhere to their campaign schedules to avoid ugly incidences.
The seat has attracted 10 candidates namely Boyd, Aroko, Robert Riaga, Sam Otiende, Collins Okeyo, Omondi Koyoo, Linda Aoko Ouma, Isaack Kiche Abok, and Jesse Okello.
