Several people were injured on Sunday, October 03, after youths allied to the Deputy President William Ruto clashed with those of ODM leader Raila Odinga at Suneka in Bonchari, Kisii County.
A scuffle ensued after youths donning ODM t-shirts waiting at the street told the deputy president to ‘take his handouts to Sugoi‘ sparking off confrontations that lasted for several minutes.
This saw the rivals groups attack each other with clubs and stones where one youth was seen lying lifelessly on the street with an injury in the forehead.
As he approached Suneka, the DP’s convoy ran into unruly ODM party youths who chanted party slogan forcing the deputy president to take cover at the home of Mama Bitutu, the widow of Oroo Oyioka, late Bonchari MP who was succeeded by Pavel Oimeke.
On his way back, violence erupted again, causing confusion and panic as the deputy president was preparing to address the crowd.
The deputy president braved rains and Pro-Raila chants to address a crowd at Suneka market where he condemned the skirmishes.
“It is very wrong for some of our local leaders to pay youths here to cause violence. I am calling on youths not to accept to be used to fighting their colleagues. You deserve a job and business, not to be used as hooligans,” Ruto said.
Ruto who spoke after attending a church service in Kenyenya, urged youths to turn up in large numbers on Tuesday, October 5, to register as voters so as to make their voices count in the 2022 General election.
“You can’t be part of the change if you don’t get the cards,” the deputy president said.
While it was said that Ruto’s three-day visit to Gusii was meant to sell his, bottom-up economic models, a section of Ruto’s allies has claimed that the visit was aimed at taming Interior CS Fred Matiang’i’s popularity in the region given the fact that he is being fronted by some leaders for the presidency.
