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“My only mistake was to attend a friend Kibor’s burial” Raila speaks after his chopper was stoned

Junet Mohammed, a Suna East MP, claimed that a chopper he was aboard with other Azimio-leaning figures in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu county, was ‘totally wrecked’ by boisterous youngsters. Raila Odinga, the leader of the ODM, was also on board the crashed plane.

The outspoken politician blamed Soy MP Caleb Kositany for their misfortunes in a social media post. Junet mockingly applauded the Ruto-aligned politician for supposedly authorizing the assault against them.

“Today we almost got killed in soy constituency Uasin Gishu County at the Burial of Mzee Jackson Kibor’s burial. Our chopper was completely destroyed and we had to look for alternative means mid-air. Congratulations Hon Caleb Kositany. William Ruto is happy now,” Junet posted.

Kenyan opposition leader of the Azimio coalition Raila Odinga speaks during a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Junet’s charges come amid reports that ODM leader Raila Odinga, who is on a three-day tour of Ruto’s North Rift territory, was forced to cut short his address in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet county, when boisterous teenagers shouted him down.

During the former premier’s speech, a gang of unruly teenagers repeatedly heckled him. The hecklers, who were screaming “UDA,” refused to listen to local governor, Alex Tolgos, who had accompanied the presidential candidate.

Raila has also spoken of the incident and this is what he had to say:

A while ago today, I witnessed what should worry ever Kenyan keen to protect the freedom of speech, association and multipartysm that we fought hard and long to get.

The threat came in the form of youth; mobilized, armed and paid to cause mayhem and disorder, destroy property and even take away lives in a bid to create political zones in the country.

In the event that took place at Kabenes in Uasin Gishu, youth attacked my plane, destroying the air shield with rocks that were clearly aimed at me. On my way to the plane, they had pelted my vehicle with stones.

My mistake was to attend the burial of my long-time friend Mr. Jackson Kibor. I thank the security officers who did everything to ensure our safety.

The attacks present a very dark reminder of what this country has witnessed before, particularly in the run up to the 1992 elections and in the 2007-2008 polls.

In the run up to August, someone seems to be assembling a rag tag band of extremist youths, radicalized by lies and handouts to zone the country before pushing us into mayhem.

For today’s unfortunate events, I hold Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandagor and Soy MP. Hon. Caleb Kositany responsible.

I call on the two, and all leaders from the region who believe in our constitution, to come out now, not later, condemn the incident and promise an end to the bizarre attempts to balkanize the country into ethnic and tribal party zones ahead of August election.

Despite the violence meted out on me and my team today, I remain optimistic that Kenya will hold peaceful, free and fair election in August.

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