Leaders from Western want Kakamega county chief of staff Nabii Nabwera to resign over Saturday's chaos at Senator Moses Wetang'ula's presidential bid launch.
Nabwera was arrested on Sunday and taken to court on Monday. Police suspect he is behind the lobbing of teargas canisters at the crowd and VIP podium in Muliro Gardens. He was freed on Sh20,000 bond but was not charged. Yesterday, UDF secretary general Raphael Werimo and Ford Kenya youth leader Benard Wakoli asked Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya to remove Nabwera from the cabinet
“After Oparanya evidently opposed the rally in Muliro Gardens in Kakamega and failing to attend the ceremony, he cannot run away from the chaos. And if he was not involved, he must suspend Nabwera immediately to cleanse his name,” Werimo said. Speaking to journalists in Mumias town, he said it was unfortunate that Luhya elders, including Nabii's’s father Burudi Nabwera, were injured.
“Did he want to murder his father who had bestowed Wetang'ula as a Luhya elder? How could he be brutal to his father because of political differences?” Werimo said.
Wakoli asked the Inspector General of Police to investigate how civilians ended up with teargas canisters. “This is a show that there could be firearms in the hands of civilians who support particular leaders,” he said. “There are strong indicators of Jeshi la Viongozi Wetu given the two forces in green and orange during the April 2 incidence including the armoury of rungus and tear gas canisters in the hands of the youth.”
Fact Box
On Friday last week, a day before Wetang'ula's launch, county askaris cordoned off Muliro Gardens. The county government directed that the rally be held at Muslim Primary School instead. Oparanya had been accused several times by Ford Kenya officials of opposing the rally but he denied it. He skipped the rally alongside Cord co-principal Raila Odinga, who flew to Tanzania for holiday with his wife Ida and daughter Winnie. He had been expected to attend and it was believed the rally had been postponed twice to accommodate him.
