From alleged crowd hiring; pelting of convoys; to nasty social media wars, the Kibra MP by-election campaigns have seen all sorts of dirty tricks employed by interested parties.
Following Sunday’s beehive of campaign activities, that saw both Jubilee and ODM hold homestretch rallies ahead of the November 7 poll, the ODM Party feels that Jubilee has now turned to intimidation.
Both rival parties brought out their top leadership to play, with Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga showing up in support of their respective candidates.
A tightly guarded Ruto, however, did not impress the opposition so much.
Photos of heavily armed guards, allegedly attached to Ruto, at the Lari Grounds, where Mariga held his campaign, have got Kenyans on social media talking, with the opposition leading the conversation with claims of intentional intimidation.
According to ODM Spokesman Phillip Etale, Ruto flaunting his military might was in bad taste and an outright attempt to frighten Kibra residents.
The people of Kibra are UNBOWED… and forever they shall. Hii vitisho ni Baridi tu. pic.twitter.com/aDMRo0dntd
— Philip Etale (@EtalePhilip) October 28, 2019
“Tangatanga or Arap Kimwarer, the people of Kibra are used to this kind of security. Try bees,” a sarcastic Etale added.
These sentiments were hailed by dozens of Kenyans who shared the feeling that the DP should have maintained his common mwananchi appeal while visiting the Constituency.
However, Jubilee supporters were quick to defend Ruto, wondering how the opposition expected him to show up unguarded despite his position of power in government.
Others felt that ODM was not intimidated by the DP’s security personnel, rather, the huge number of supporters that showed up for Mariga’s rally.
A section of Kenyans also felt that the photos were a desperate attempt by ODM to defame Ruto, calling for more evidence that the photos were actually taken on Sunday.
