Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba during a past press briefing. Photo/ nation.co.ke
Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba has called for speedy prosecution of perpetrators of the violence that rocked Migori in which Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho's bodyguard was shot and injured.Ababu said such incidents should not be entertained as the country prepares to go for elections.On Monday, fighting erupted at Posta grounds in Migori town when a group of youth accompanied by Migori governor Okoth Obado stormed an ODM rally disrupting it.During the incident Joho's bodyguard was injured after being shot in the leg.Joho was in the company of Senators James Orengo (Siaya) and Anyang Nyong'o (Kisumu) and MPs Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita), Rashid Bedzimba (Kisauni), Abdikadir Aden (Balambala), John K'Obado (Uriri) and Migori gubernatorial aspirant Ochilo Ayacho.Obado and his supporters stormed the rally after accusing Mr Joho, Orengo and Nyong'o of staging a 'coup' in his county by endorsing his rival.“We want to urge every political party, we want to urge IEBC itself and law enforcement agencies, don't allow any space for violence,” Ababu said at a press conference in Nairobi when he unveiled two organs that will help his Labour Party prepare for the August 8 general election.“And whenever violence occurs such as we saw in Migori, the law should be swift and ruthless and the perpetrators must face the full force of the law.”He said allowing such cases to thrive would amount to preparing ground for more violence.The Directorate of Public Prosecution has already ordered for investigations into the chaos that also left scores injured and property destroyed after gunshots were fired.The DPP particularly stated that the matter should be expedited to unearth the culprits behind the ugly occurrence.In an April 4 letter to the Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro, Deputy DPP Nicholas Mutuku directed the investigations agency to conduct a thorough probe on the matter and file a report for appropriate action to be taken.Joho described the incident as an assassination attempt on his life.“The incident was unfortunate and though it was attributed to local political rivalry, it is without a doubt it also had the hallmarks of an assassination attempt aimed at my life,” he said in a statement.“I welcome the directive by the Director of Public Prosecution for a comprehensive and objective probe into the incident with a view to bringing the culprits to book.”Despite calls for a probe into the chaos Joho and Obado met at ODM party leader Raila Odinga's Capitol Hill office on Wednesday and reconciled.