On December 16, 2016, former Lands Minister Charity Ngilu now the Kitui county boss narrowly escaped death while leading protests opposing the demolition of kiosks in her backyard.
During the commotion, former Kitui Mayor Martha Mwangangi was crushed to death by a fire engine belonging to the Kitui County Government.
According to an eyewitness, the engine's driver was trying to scare the crowd when he coincidentally crushed the politician.
Ngilu faulted the death on the former Kitui Governor Julius Malombe.
The twist and turns of events saw Malombe ejected from the mayor’s funeral service.
The former county boss later faulted Ngilu for the incident.
Malombe accused Ngilu of hiring goons to smoke him out of the burial ceremony.
“Ms Mwangangi’s death was a pure accident since the driver was escaping from the rowdy mob at Kalundu Market who had broken the fire engine’s windscreen and were in the process of setting it on fire,” Governor Malombe said.
The rivalry between the two became evident during the August 8, 2017, general elections when they traded barbs on several occasions.
Malombe has since kept away from the public domain following his loss to Ngilu.
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