Police have begun investigations into an incident in which hooded gangsters raided the Thirdway Alliance party Lavington headquarters on Thursday evening.
Nairobi regional police commander Philip Ndolo said that the investigations were on top gear to unravel the raid’s motive and arrest the culprits.
“We had officers on the ground this morning to investigate the matter,” Ndolo told the Star on Friday.
The party’s secretary general Fredrick Okang’o claimed that the gang of six hooded men made away with his personal laptop, phone and a wallet during the 7pm incident.
He said that the incident occurred hours after they received the information that IEBC had verified their Punguza Mizigo 2019 Bill.
“When this news broke, I was not in the office but I rushed to the office to pick a letter that had been sent by IEBC showing outcomes of the verification results,” Okang’o said.
He said he arrived at the office at around 6pm and picked the letter as he worked on other things in the office.
Okang'o later left the office to go and meet his party leader Ekuru Aukot at Amboseli Gardens where the latter had a meeting with the party’s CEO, few metres from the offices.
“We stayed there for around 45 minutes since he was headed to another meeting in Upper Hill. So, I decided to return to the office to file the letter,” he said.
He was later accosted by a hooded man who had a firearm on his way out of the office.
“I didn’t know that that they were six until they pushed me to a corner when I saw five others hooded with guns. The other five had pistols while the first one had a big rifle,” Okang’o said.
Okang’o said he was pushed into the office’s washroom and locked in.
He narrated how he helplessly cried for help for close to 30 minutes as his attackers ransacked the office.
“The guard had been tied in the mouth, hands on the back and legs too, he couldn’t speak. The gate was locked, a clear indication that they never used it to access the premises,” he said.
Thirdway Alliance Kenya party officials condemned the attack and raids on their offices.
They said that they will not be intimidated into slowing down on their mission with the referendum push.
“An idea that its time has reached can’t be stopped. This may not be sitting well with some people, but we tell them to focus on the issues we are raising in this bill. It is about Kenya for us, not individuals,” he said.
Political Parties Liaison Committee Chairperson Irungu Nyakera also condemned the incident.
“We want to declare to the perpetrators of this wanton act of violence that we as political parties shall not be cowed. And in the words of Evelyn Hall, “I (may) disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” Nyakera said.
The leaders urged police to speedily conclude investigations and have the perpetrators face swift justice to deter such heinous acts in future.
(edited by O. Owino)
