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Raila Odinga came out to condemn an incident where his chopper was stoned. The incident took place when he attended a burial in the Rift Valley region where hired goons stoned his chopper on Friday. The chopper was allegedly mid-air and taking off when the goons hurled stones to the point they broke the front window. Baba was seated at the front and a stone hit him with others breaking the glass that landed on him.
A Staple of Political Scuffles
The chopper incident is the latest in what has become a staple of political scuffles as the race to the 2022 general election gets heated up. Baba, who champions the ‘Azimio la Umoja’ political outfit is facing stiff opposition from the UDA ‘Kenya Kwanza’ outfit, some of which has manifested in violent scuffles as the leaders take to all regions of the country to campaign.
According to the authorities, the hired goons involved in the incident were hired by the likes of Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, Soy MP Caleb Kositany, and Uasin Gishu County Speaker David Kiplagat. The three have been summoned to be questioned on the events that took place on Friday.
UDA Leaders Accused of Organizing the Violence
Baba had originally accused Uasin Gishu governor Mandago and Soy MP Kositany of organizing the scuffle. The two denied the allegations with the governor saying he was actually organizing security for Baba. Kositany, on his part, said he learned about the incident on Twitter. Investigations are still ongoing on the root of the incident.
A Heated Political Temperature and an Economy in Tatters
The current political temperature in the country is at an all-time high. More importantly, the volatility in the political landscape has cascaded into a growing economic downfall where Kenyans are finding it harder to put food on the table. For instance, wheat flour has essentially doubled in price to KES 180 while salad cooking oil has shot up to KES 300.
The economy is reeling thanks to a decade of corruption and the embezzlement and mismanagement of public funds by the now outgoing government. Things are really bad for the average Kenyan while the political elites spend millions on campaigns and political drives.
Huge Campaign Budgets as Ordinary Citizens Suffer the Brunt of a Reeling Economy
It is believed that campaign spending in Kenya is among the highest in the world. The reason for this is that aspiring leaders will spend all they can to ensure they secure the political seat. They then go on to ‘recover’ their funds by engaging in corruption and embezzling public funds. In the madness of it all, it is the taxpayer who loses out and is forced to stomach a corrupt and dysfunctional government that cannot even meet their necessities or provide public services such as healthcare.
