THE STANDARD
President Uhuru Kenyatta and National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga publicly reconciled and agreed to work together in the interest of Kenyans. They announced the burying of the hatchet after talks at Harambee House, Nairobi, on 9/3/2018. [Willis Awandu, Standard]
That it is no longer at ease in the Handshake house of President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM’s Raila Odinga is not a secret.
In the aftermath of last weekend’s outburst by close allies of the two partners, the Handshake stakeholders have been quick to dismiss fears raised as a “mere storm in a tea cup”.
But what if, to borrow Chinua Achebe’s words, the centre cannot hold and Raila bolts out of his pact with Uhuru?
Echesa Speaks From Jail: I’m in Familiar Territory
Former Sports CS Rashid Echesa has downplayed his arrest saying it is a ploy by his political enemies to intimidate him.
Speaking from his cell at Gigiri Police Station, the controversial politician told
Nation he was “born in the ghetto and being thrown into a cell is no big deal”.
Echesa was arrested Friday after he surrendered to the police on allegations of slapping an election official. He had gone into hiding after he was captured on video slapping an electoral official on Thursday during the Matungu Constituency by-election.
He ultimately turned himself in after Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai issued an ultimatum for him to surrender or be treated “as an armed and dangerous criminal”.
Echesa claimed Peter Okuro, the presiding officer, had blocked their party agents from the polling station.
ODM agents were also beaten and injured by rival supporters after they found them with campaigning material and money inside a polling station.
ANC candidate Peter Nabulindo won the Matungu by-election garnering 14,257 votes, trouncing his closest challenger, David Were of Orange Democratic Movement, who got 10,565 votes.
Chaotic scenes were also witnessed in London Ward, Nakuru County, on the voting day as police teargassed a group of leaders allied to Deputy President William Ruto.
Antony Nzuki of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) won the by-election with 1,707 votes.
By-elections have thrown the political scene into a spin standardmedia.co.ke - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from standardmedia.co.ke Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“It is a sad state of affairs that police and the Judiciary are being used to intimidate leaders of some political persuasions,” said Koech.
Barasa denied claims they had weapons at the time of the arrest, saying they were party agents who were just going around checking how the voting was going on.
“We didn’t intimidate or threaten anyone. We were supervising election as agents when we were arrested,” said Barasa.
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The four were on Thursday arrested for planning to cause violence during the Kabuchai by-election.
The charge sheet read they were in possession of crude weapons in their vehicle during the arrest and had also refused to have their fingerprints taken.