Siaya Governor James Orengo has alleged that plans are underway to disrupt a political meeting scheduled to take place in Homa Bay on Sunday, August 16.
Speaking on Wednesday, August 12, Orengo said he had received information about meetings allegedly being held to coordinate disruptions, including claims that goons had been assembled
"We have gotten details of what they are planning; yesterday, they had a meeting after the Naivasha UDA ODM meeting at Governors’ Park, where weapons were distributed: rungus, arrows, pangas.
"A governor has purchased pangas, rungus, and arrows to ensure that those who are going to go to Homa Bay will be attacked," he said.
Orengo alleged that another meeting had been held at the home of Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, where he claimed goons were present.
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He also alleged that market women were being asked to avoid entering Homa Bay and instead sell their goods at Kabunde Airstrip.
"Today, there was another meeting at Hon Kaluma’s house with goons. Later on in the evening today, they are going to meet some of the market women, and they are telling them not to enter Homa Bay; they should take their wares to Kabunde Airstrip and sell them there," he added.
Orengo also alleged that a registration exercise was being planned at the airstrip as part of efforts to prevent aircraft from landing there.
He maintained that such measures would not stop him and his supporters from travelling to Homa Bay for the Sunday event.
"They are going to have a bogus registration process just to make sure no planes land at Kabunde Airstrip. I am sure no force on earth is going to stop us from being in Homa Bay on Sunday," he further said.
Orengo further claimed that there were plans to have some of his supporters arrested before the meeting, saying he and his allies were prepared for the alleged actions.
"They are also planning to make sure that some of our supporters are arrested like they have done in the past before Sunday. We are prepared for all that. What the leaders of Homa Bay are trying to do, they are trying to turn Homa Bay into a little Rwanda.
"The moment you begin to mobilize people on the basis of political beliefs, you are planting the seeds of conflict and even genocide," he stated.
Orengo vowed to attend the Homa Bay meeting despite what he described as threats and attempts to prevent his presence.
He recalled injuries he had sustained in the past and said he was prepared to face whatever consequences might arise from his decision to attend.
"I want to assure those leaders from Homa Bay that we will be there. If I take off my clothes, I will show you scars of bows, arrows, injuries, including fractures.
"If the last act that I can do for this country in the name of change, patriotism, and democracy, is for me to die for my country, I am prepared on the 16th in Homa Bay to be there and face the consequences of these primitive and backward leaders," he noted.
Elsewhere, Siaya Senator and ODM Party leader Oburu Oginga has described Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as a political first-termer, pointing to his relatively limited experience in elective politics despite his growing prominence within the opposition.
Speaking during an interview on Tuesday, August 11, Oburu described Sifuna as an intelligent politician but said he remained a first-termer in elective politics, serving as the Nairobi senator.
"Sifuna is a young man who is intelligent, but in terms of politics, he is a first-termer," he stated.
Oburu attributed Sifuna's rise within ODM to former party leader, the late Raila Odinga, saying the former Prime Minister played a key role in his appointment as ODM Secretary-General and thereafter his election as Nairobi senator.
"It is Raila who brought him and made him SG and helped him to be the senator of Nairobi," he added.
Oburu said Sifuna needed to gain more experience in navigating the challenges and setbacks associated with Kenya's competitive political environment.
"So, he still has a lot to learn in the rough political terrain; he still has to learn how to slide, and how to slip and how to stand up," he explained.
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