Raila chopper attack by youth mob creates fear of poll violence

A helicopter carrying Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga together with other Azimio la Umoja officials came under attack by rowdy youth. The incident happened when the ODM top leaders were attending the funnel of politician Jackson Kibor at his home in Uasin Gishu,  on April 1. The Uasin Gishu area in the rift valley province is a stronghold of William Ruto who is competing with Raila in the presidential race.

The violent youth pelted stones that damaged parts of Raila Odinga’s chopper. One of the stones hit the wind shield where Odinga was seated but no one was injured in the incident.

The rocks, “were clearly aimed at me,” Raila said.

After the incident, the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate said that what happened is a dark reminder of Kenya’s darkest moments of 1992 clashes and the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

During the 2007-2008 violence, more than 1,000 lives were lost, while 600,000 Kenyans were internally displaced especially in the rift valley province.

Odinga said Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago and Soy Member of Parliament Caleb Kositany were responsible. The two politicians are allied to Deputy President William Ruto.

 “I call on the two, and all leaders from the region who believe in our constitution, to come out now, not later, to condemn the incident and promise an end to the bizarre attempts to balkanize the country into ethnic and tribal party zones ahead of August elections,” the Orange Democratic Movement leader said in a statement.

He added: “Despite the violence meted on me and my team today, I remain optimistic that Kenya will hold a peaceful, free, and fair election in August.”

Odinga also revealed that, “someone seems to be assembling a ragtag band of extremist youths, radicalized by lies and handouts to zone the country before pushing us into mayhem.”

Political analysts interpreted the statement by the ODM leader as referring to his rival, Ruto.

Ruto is also a victim of a similar attack. On November 10, 2021, Ruto’s tour of Kisumu was interrupted after rowdy youths booed and stoned his motorcade in Kondele area.

Police said the youth group that attacked Odinga’s helicopter was “organized” but did not divulge details on who was involved.

The Deputy President condemned the violence, saying every leader has a right to campaign in every part of the country. “Political violence is retrogressive, divisive, and tears down our democracy. We condemn and reject it without reservation,” Ruto said in a statement.

Although Raila blamed Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, for the attack on his chopper,  the Governor also condemned the incident.

“We have heavily invested in peace building as a region, we will not allow a few elements to take us back. I urge the security apparatus in the region to act with speed and get into the bottom of the matter,” the Governor tweeted.

At the end of January, UN and Kenya Police organized a two-day forum towards peaceful 2022 elections. During the event which took place in Nakuru County rift-valley region, participants expressed deep concern over serious human rights violations, specifically sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during elections that has become a recurrent feature of elections in Kenya. They identified key drivers of these violations. Hate speech and political incitement of violence was identified as one of the primary drivers of conflict especially during election period.

“We are already seeing situations of political intolerance. Political parties – or their supporters – will not allow a conducive environment for supporters of other parties to carry out activities in certain territories. We are also seeing some utterances from politicians which can be divisive and polarizing. These should not be coming from leaders who [effectively] command large numbers of followers,” said Lillian Mbilo, data analyst for Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

As election period gets closer, people in different parts of Kenya are worried that past experiences of election violence are likely to repeat.

Security agencies are on alert to counter any violence that may be targeting to disrupt the August general elections.