Ruth Odinga Condemns Homa Bay Political Violence, Calls Out Mobilization of Hired Youth
HOMA BAY, KENYA — Kisumu County Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has issued a scathing rebuke of the political violence that rocked Homa Bay ahead of the Linda Mwananchi rallies, fiercely condemning the use of hired youths to disrupt political activities and assault members of the press.
Her statement comes after violent scenes unfolded across the county, where armed gangs attacked political convoys, raided local hotels, and targeted journalists.
Among those assaulted were AFP journalists Fred Ooko and Brian Ongoro, whose recording equipment was destroyed during the unrest.
Expressing profound dismay, Ms. Odinga stated that her “heart is bleeding” at the events preceding the scheduled gatherings. She condemned the weaponization of vulnerable young people used to execute state-level or localized political blockades.
“I condemn, without reservation, the use of our young sons and daughters to propagate violent attacks in Homa Bay,” she declared. “An attack on the press is an attack on every Kenyan’s right to know. Attacking a political convoy is an attack on the right of every Kenyan to move, assemble, and associate freely.”
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Invoking her historic political lineage as the daughter of the late patriarch Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the Kisumu MP lamented the trajectory of political culture in Luo Nyanza.
She invoked the legacies of democracy champions—including Jaramogi, Argwings-Kodhek, Tom Mboya, and Prof. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai—warning that current acts of political intolerance dishonor the sacrifices made for multiparty democracy.
She noted that the region, which historically served as the epicenter of Kenya’s liberation struggles, now risks losing its moral authority by resorting to “pangas, stones, and hired goons” to resolve political disagreements.
“Watching what unfolded in Homa Bay—youth mobilized and paid to disrupt a lawful, notified political gathering, journalists beaten for doing their jobs, a whole town shut down by fear—I have to believe my father and his generation are turning in their graves,” Ms. Odinga remarked.
Directly placing the blame on elected and regional officials, she warned that politicians funding chaos are leading the region into a perilous trajectory. “We, the leaders, stand accused. We are the ones mobilizing and funding the youth… We are rattling pretty fast towards a dark abyss,” she said, calling for an immediate end to politically sponsored hooliganism.
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