Mayhem broke out in Migori Town on April 3, 2017 during a planned ODM meeting that was to be graced by Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho at Posta Grounds.
Anyang’ Nyong’o (then Kisumu senator) and Siaya senator James Orengo and MPs Joseph Kobado and Junet Mohammed (Suna East) were also in attendance.
Witnesses said chaos erupted when Governor Okoth Obado arrived at the event in the company of his bodyguards but a certain group started throwing water bottles at him, forcing his bodyguards to shoot in the air to disperse the crowd.
Joho’s bodyguard sustained injuries during the incident with the ODM governor and deputy party leader linking it to attempted assassination.
Following the incident, Joho issued the below statement.
“Earlier today, together with my delegation, we came under a brutal attack in Migori Town by people we have reason to believe were trained security officers in civilian attires.
The entire operation had all the markings of an assassination attempt which left one of our body guards shot and wounded in the leg wounded and the vehicle in which I was riding hit with bullets at least two bullets.
We convey my best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to all those who were wounded in the attack. We deplore in the strongest possible terms this assassination attempt and demand prompt and transparent investigation in order to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
We believe that the events of today are part of a growing pattern of the politically motivated attacks and intolerance that we have witnessed in recent days even though until today, those attacks have mostly been verbal.
This pattern must be arrested before it escalates out of control. Only thorough investigations and bringing of perpetrators to justice will save the situation.
In the meantime, we appeal to the people of Migori to remain calm and be more steadfast in their support for and commitment to our party the Orange Development Movement.”
The meeting had earlier on faced challenges after tents and a podium they had set up were brought down on the night of Sunday, April 2, with fingers pointing at Obado.
Joho was also set to open a new ODM office in the region.