Opposition Chief Raila Odinga's former aide George Okoth Otura has recalled an instance where his boss was almost assassinated in 1995 during a Ford Kenya party event in Thika Stadium.
Delegates and members of the Ford Kenya party had gathered at Thika Stadium to elect the new party leader.
The contest pitted Raila against former vice president the late Michael Kijana Wamalwa, where the winner was expected to fly Ford Kenya's flag in 1997 presidential elections.
Speaking to the Standard, Otura claimed there was a plot to shoot and kill Raila during the event, adding that he together with a young man identified as Martin Otieno swung into action and pushed Odinga to the ground, just before a police officer fired a shot towards him.
“I knew they were going to kill Raila. I have never been scared like that in my life. I heard a senior police officer ordering one of his juniors to aim at Raila and we had to act fast by pushing him to the ground. We were ready to take the bullets on his behalf. He was initially resistant and wanted to look at the policemen but we eventually subdued him,” Otura said.
He alleged that a police officer fired several shots towards them shortly after they had pushed Odinga to the ground.
"The officer who was aiming at Raila eventually unleashed a volley of bullets which caught one of the delegates on the leg. We were relieved when the gunfire finally died down. Raila sought to know if any of us had been hit,” Otura said.