The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has criticized State House Kenya after residents heckled Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo in front of President William Ruto.
Governor Ottichilo faced jeers from the crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony of Luanda Market on Wednesday, January 22, after President William Ruto handed him the microphone to address the gathering.
Ottichilo made only one statement before being drowned out by the crowd’s hostility. Overwhelmed, he abandoned the speech and walked away.
In a statement by Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi on Friday, January 24, ODM expressed deep concern and dismay over the unfortunate events at the groundbreaking ceremony of Luanda Modern Market on Wednesday.
“It is very sad that an event styled as a development tour was turned into a theatre of heckling, name calling and absurdity before the Head of State and his entourage,” read the statement in part.
“Politics of mobilizing hecklers to demean others is archaic and has no room in modern society where voters have the final say.”
ODM Blames State House After Heckling in Ruto’s Event
ODM deputy party leader and Vihiga Senator Godfrey said the heckling was attributed to brutal and unnecessary demolition of traders’ stalls without prior notice.
He added that the demolitions were supervised by government officials to align with the Presidential schedule.
“This heckling is also attributed to the brutal and unnecessary demolition of traders stalls without adequate notice by the contractor and supervised by government officials to align to Presidential schedule,” the statement read further.
“It is unfortunate that Governor Wilber Otichillo became the victim of circumstances by angry locals due to the unprecedented omissions by the National Government.”
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Osotsi stated that presidential functions must be organized in such a manner to accord respect and honour to the high office and must not lead to disunity and suffering of the people.
“I call upon the government to immediately compensate the traders who made losses as a result of the untimely and uncoordinated demolitions,” he said.
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At the same time, ODM mentioned that the Kenya Kwanza leaders who were in the meeting did not condemn this barbaric and unwise act.
The party added that Vihiga people are peace loving Kenyans who embraced togetherness, respect and unity and have co-existed for many years.
“We call upon my fellow leaders in the county to desist from this growing negative culture and spearhead political tolerance,” ODM said.
“We must understand that you cannot lead people through the application of archaic methods, and we should all promote political tolerance even as we hold divergent opinions and ideologies.”
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On Tuesday January 21, hundreds of Luanda residents counted losses after their shops were destroyed to make way for the construction of a new market.
Disgruntled traders were adamant that the county government was taking away their source of livelihood, as they were not offered an alternative location to conduct their trade ahead of the demolitions.
The traders further demanded compensation from Ottichilo’s administration, claiming that the destruction of their shops had led to massive loss of property.
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