Irate Mombasa youths disrupt Ruto allies presser
What you need to know:
Armed with stones and other crude weapons, the youths blocked the legislators and the media from accessing the hotel.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi had warned Tangatanga leaders against politicising the process.
Irate youths disrupted a press conference called by four Coast Members of Parliament allied to Deputy President William Ruto in Mombasa town.
Four MPs led by Malindi legislator Aisha Jumwa, Mohammed Ali (Nyali), Athman Shariff (Lamu East) and Kilifi Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu were chased away by youths shortly after arriving at Lotus Hotel where they had planned to address the media Friday.
CRUDE WEAPONS
Armed with stones and other crude weapons, the youths blocked the legislators and the media from accessing the hotel.
The MPs, who later addressed the media outside the hotel, condemned the incident and promised to attend tomorrow’s Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) meeting in Tononoka, Mombasa.
“If BBI is for inclusivity, then we Coast leaders should be given time to give our views since it is happening in Coast region. We shall attend the Tononoka meeting Saturday and we have a right to air our views,” said Ms Jumwa.
She added: “What we have seen here today (Friday) depicts the kind of leaders we have in Mombasa and we know this is just part of the plan to frustrate (those) who have different opinions on BBI and we expect more of such sideshows tomorrow (Saturday).”
HIJACKING PROGRAMME
The Nyali MP claimed that they had not been involved in the planning of the BBI meeting. He accused people from outside the Coast region of hijacking the programme.
“It is a pity that there is an ongoing meeting at Wild Waters for delegates which is in my constituency but I am not involved. Is this what we are calling building bridges?" asked Mr Ali.
After the incident, the group headed to Wild Waters where a delegates' meeting to plan for the Tononoka event was being held.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen claimed that some people were planning to humiliate leaders allied to DP Ruto during the Coast region BBI event.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi had warned the Tangatanga leaders against politicising the process.
At Tononoka grounds, the venue of Saturday’s BBI meeting, preparations are ongoing.
