Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has condemned political violence and alleged organised goonism in Homa Bay, warning that the use of violence to settle political differences threatens Kenya\u2019s democratic gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement posted on her official Facebook page, Ruth said political disagreements should be resolved through dialogue and debate rather than violence, as tensions rise ahead of a series of Linda Mwananchi rallies in Homa Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also condemned the reported assault on AFP journalists Fred Ooko and Brian Ongoro, who were allegedly attacked and had their equipment destroyed while covering the political events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“An attack on the press is an attack on every Kenyan\u2019s right to know,\u201d Ruth said.The MP warmed that attacks targeting political convoys undermine citizens\u2019 constitutional freedoms, including the rights to movement, peaceful assembly and association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruth further alleged that young people had been mobilised and paid to disrupt the rallies, describing such actions as a dangerous form of political mobilisation that could deepen divisions in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her intervention comes against the backdrop of heightened political tensions in Nyanza, where the Linda Mwananchi movement has been holding rallies amid divisions within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruth, who is the sister of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and ODM leader Dr Oburu Oginga, invoked the region\u2019s long history of political struggle in condemning the reported violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She recalled the political struggles of her late father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who spent years in detention and political isolation after challenging the political establishment and advocating for greater political choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also cited the deaths of prominent Kenyan political figures, including Argwings-Kodhek and Tom Mboya, as part of the sacrifices made during the country’s struggle for political freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruth specifically highlighted the killing of Prof. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai, a political scientist from Homa Bay who chaired the Devolution Committee during the Bomas constitutional review process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mbai was killed in 2003, several months after the constitutional review process began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Ruth, the devolved system of government that Mbai had helped advance was eventually entrenched in the 2010 Constitution, seven years after his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We must take stock as a community,\u201d she said, arguing that earlier generations understood that political differences could be confronted through debate without turning communities against one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruth warned that continued mobilisation of young people to disrupt lawful political gatherings could push Kenya towards a dangerous political path.
\u201cWe are rattling pretty fast towards a dark abyss,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She called for an immediate end to the reported violence and urged political leaders to ensure that Homa Bay and the wider Nyanza region remained spaces where political differences could be expressed peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her message was also framed as a reminder of the region’s historical contribution to Kenya’s struggle for multiparty democracy and constitutional freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We owe our children a Homa Bay and a Nyanza, where political disagreement is a conversation, not a battlefield,\u201d Ruth said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has condemned political violence and alleged organised goonism in Homa Bay, warning that the use of violence to settle political differences threatens Kenya\u2019s democratic gains. In a statement posted on her official Facebook page, Ruth said political disagreements should be resolved through dialogue and debate rather than violence, as tensions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n