The Statehouse has firmly come out to hit at the CORD coalition for allegedly using a person suffering from a skin disease to woe and seek sympathy votes ahead of next year's general elections.
The opposition has been criticised for openly displaying photos of Bernad Ndege, a post election victim suffering from a skin disorder during their rally at the Kibera grounds.
Reports from the ruling coalition indicate that Ndege is suffering from a condition called Vitiligo, a disorder that decolourises the skin, contrary to CORD's statement that the victim suffered from fire burns during the 2007/2008 election skirmishes.
The director of Statehouse communications, Dennis Itumbi took to his Facebook page and Twitter handle on April 17 to ask Kenyans to discard the opposition's false allegations as a mere way of seeking sympathy votes. Dennis had this to post.
‘‘If one is burnt by fire, say up to a level you fall unconscious and the burns are from the toes to the head by mere assumption that 60 percent of the body burns, how long shall it take one to treat such burns to a level that one can comfortably make a walk without further checks? Honestly, will it take a period less than five months to fully heal?" asked Itumbi.
The pictures also sparked online debates and heated arguments with a section of Kenyans siding with both sides. However, Statehouse remains firm to its statement that Ndeges’ condition is a skin disorder. The opposition, too, holds that the victim suffered fire burns.
The question is who is telling the truth?