Nyali MP Awiti in trouble for criticising Governor Joho
Nyali MP Hezron Awiti. He was on Monday heckled by a rowdy crowd, accusing him of criticising Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Eye witnesses said that the crowd started charging towards the dais as Mr Awiti addressed the function.
Police were to intervene, shoot in the air and eventually calm the situation.
The MP’s personal assistant Mazera Ndurya dismissed the incident as a “political hiccup."
He said the hecklers were less than 10, out of which two were confronted and escorted out of the meeting.
Rowdy crowds Monday heckled Nyali MP Hezron Awiti and disrupted an event he had organised after he criticised Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho.
Police were forced to shoot in the air to disperse the hecklers as the situation in Maweni threatened to get out of hand.
The irate crowd appeared to have been angered by the MP and other speakers who had claimed that Governor Joho’s government had failed the people.
Eye witnesses said that the crowd started charging towards the dais as Mr Awiti addressed the function, forcing police to intervene, shoot in the air and eventually calm the situation.
“About 20 people who were incensed by the utterances made about the governor started booing, shouting and heckling anyone who spoke ill of Mr Joho,” said a witness of the Sunday incident.
Things appeared to get out of hand when the rowdy crowd advanced towards the podium, apparently going for the Wiper party MP who was speaking at the time, as some threw objects.
“It was at this point that a stampede ensued causing some of the people to scamper for safety as supporters of Mr Awiti took charge of the proceedings,” the witness added.
On Monday, the MP’s personal assistant Mazera Ndurya dismissed the incident as a “political hiccup common where a multitude of people gather at a political function.’’
He said the hecklers were less than 10, out of which two were confronted and escorted out of the meeting by supporters of the legislator.
Speaking earlier after attending a church service at the African Inland Church in Kongowea, Mr Awiti took a swipe at the governor, accusing him of “posturing to ODM leader Raila Odinga so as to get the backing of the Luo community next year.
