Only hours after local police chief David Mathiu cancelled the town hall gathering, opposition leader Raila Odinga and other Azimio officials are in Murang’a.
Former Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, who organised the meeting, and other Azimio leaders such as Martha Karua, George Wajackoyah, Jeremiah Kioni, Wycliffe Oparanya, and Eugene Wamalwa were with Mr. Odinga.
At about 11 a.m., the motorcade entered the town of Murang’a. There were a few cops in the vicinity, which seemed peaceful.
A friend of Mr. Odinga, Mr. Wa Iria, asserted Wednesday that he had alerted the police about the town hall meeting. Nevertheless, Mathiu declared on Thursday that he had turned down Azimio’s request for the assembly, calling it unlawful.
Habire Chege, a former nominated MCA and Wa Iria’s point person, was spotted encouraging locals to attend the gathering at the Mothers’ Union Hall in Murang’a town.
At an anti-government gathering in Murang’a town on Tuesday, Mr. Odinga had been invited as the guest of honour. On Wednesday night, the Murang’a County Security Committee declared that Odinga and his political allies were not welcome in the area.
“The meeting organisers did not follow the rules of public order, which stipulated that notice should have been given four days in advance. They gave us two days’ warning,” he stated.
Mr. Kainga stated as follows: “Unless the said persons would be visiting as normal Kenyans with no intent to honour the contents of their notice, they remain unwelcome and will not be permitted to join in public gatherings.”
Murang’a County
Murang’a County is one of the counties of Kenya’s former Central Province. Its largest town and capital is Murang’a, which was referred to as Fort Hall during the colonial era. The county is inhabited mainly by and is considered the birthplace of the Gikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya. The county has a population of 1,056,640 based on the 2019 census