The burden of supporting politicians has led to dozens of individuals nursing injuries in Nyamira county as campaigns intensify.
The supporters have found themselves in hospital beds after fights over handouts, without anyone to help them sort out hospital bills and take care of their families.
On Sunday, the IEBC cleared three gubernatorial aspirants who will be fighting to get the top county job.
After the clearance process by the electoral agency, the candidates embarked on a series of rallies within the county to popularise their bids.
However, during one of the rallies, a vehicle in a gubernatorial candidate’s campaign trail nearly ran over a crowd of people at Nyaramba in Nyamira North subcounty, injuring two supporters.
The supporters had accompanied Borabu MP Ben Momanyi who is eyeing the gubernatorial seat for a campaign after presenting his papers to the IEBC offices in Nyamira town.
In the incident, one Bernard Mayaka was seriously injured and rushed to Our Lady of Mercy Hospital Ibara within Kebirigo town where he is currently receiving treatment.
On the same day in a different campaign, a supporter sustained serious head injuries after he was pushed by another youth in a row over a handout that was given by a politician.
Eric Nyandieka sustained head injuries after he fell on the tarmac at Sironga area and is currently receiving treatment at the Nyamira County Referral Hospital.
A secondary school student broke his ankle after he jumped from a campaign vehicle at Ikobe and is currently in hospital receiving treatment.
He is said to have spotted a politician dishing out cash to some youths and opted to jump from a moving car to secure the handout, which turned out to be disastrous.
During the same incident, a car in one of the governor's campaign trail lost control and hit road barriers at Florida within Nyamira town and injured two vegetable vendors who were carrying on with their business along the road.
The driver of the car is said to have been epileptic and hence failed to contain the car leading to loss of control. The vehicle damaged three other vehicles that were ahead of it.
On Monday, a youth who had been delegated the duty of distributing handouts to other youths in a campaign caravan jumped from a moving vehicle and disappeared with the cash.
The incident prompted the others who were on the caravan to jump and chase after him, leading to three of them sustaining hand injuries.
They were later treated in different health facilities within Nyamira town and discharged.
Nyamira county commissioner Michael Lesmam urged politicians and their supporters to take caution, especially when in campaigns, saying such incidents are common during this campaign period.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
