Kakamega County leaders aligned with Linda Mwananchi, led by Brian Lishenga and Bernard Mulama, have demanded that ODM’s county leadership, under Governor Fernandes Barasa, apologise for what befell Linda Mwananchi leaders in Homa Bay failing which they will stage demonstrations on Saturday to counter the tuktuk empowerment event scheduled to take place under the patronage of the broad-based government.
Speaking to journalists today, Brian Lishenga said it is painful to watch leaders who once worked alongside Senator Edwin Sifuna now turn around and congratulate Governor Gladys Wanga for unleashing terror on Linda Mwananchi.
Lishenga noted that Sifuna and other principals were attacked while simply exercising their democratic rights, yet to date not a single leader from Kakamega County has condemned the incident instead, they are celebrating it.
Photo|Brian Lishenga and Charles Anyona
He nonetheless revealed that peaceful demonstrations will go ahead on Saturday to call out both the leaders behind the attack and those from Kakamega who have failed to condemn the chaos.
“We call out Kakamega leaders for keeping quiet when Sifuna is attacked. We want them to condemn what Gladys Wanga did to our son, or we will hold demonstrations on Saturday,” Lishenga said.
He further vowed that they would extend the same protection to Edwin Sifuna within their own territory, should Gladys Wanga and Peter Kaluma choose to protect Homa Bay on behalf of William Ruto.
Mautuma Ward MCA Charles Anyona, who was present at the press briefing, used the platform to criticise the way Kenya Kwanza has been luring Kenyans with what he termed “fake” empowerment programmes. Anyona argued that rather than planning such empowerment drives, the government ought to channel the funds towards education, which he described as being in a devastated state.
He added that the planned tuktuk empowerment event will not go ahead in Kakamega unless the relevant leader publicly calls out Gladys Wanga for funding goons to disrupt the Linda Mwananchi brigade, noting that they have also blocked Kakamega and will not allow those who facilitated the chaos to set foot in town.
“Fake empowerment will not help anyone; instead, channel the funds to useful projects like education and health,” Anyona urged.
Lumakanda MCA Bernard Mulama, for his part, added that the government has chosen to side with one political affiliation, arguing that as Linda Mwananchi, they too should be free to set their own rules. Mulama called on Nyanza authorities to arrest those who pelted stones at Linda Mwananchi convoys, pointing out that the culprits are all over social media celebrating their actions.
He said measures have already been put in place to hold demonstrations in Kakamega town to counter the tuktuk empowerment event scheduled for Saturday at Approved Grounds.
“As Linda Mwananchi, we will hold demonstrations in Kakamega town to counter the tuktuk empowerment, because you cannot abuse our own and later come to give us peanuts,” Mulama said.
Photo|Leaders aligned with Linda Mwananchi press briefing
Linda Mwananchi leaders reiterated that they remain steadfast in ensuring the law does not take sides, adding that it is unfortunate to see Governor Barasa remain silent on the matter, given that he once worked closely with Edwin Sifuna, who also campaigned for him during the 2022 General Election.
The leaders further called on Cabinet Secretaries Opiyo Wandayi and John Mbadi to first apologise to the Luhya community before proceeding to hold rallies in western Kenya, warning that it will not be business as usual come Sunday for the leaders to speak unless they apologise and publicly call out ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga for unleashing goons on Senator Edwin Sifuna.