Raila forced to end Iten rally prematurely

Azimio la Umoja flagbearer Raila Odinga was on Friday April 1 forced to end his political rally in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet county, prematurely after rowdy youth started heckling him.

Mr Odinga, who is on a tour of Deputy President William Ruto's North Rift backyard, started by holding an indoor meeting at Iten Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) before addressing a gathering at the town centre.

Area governor, Alex Tolgos, introduced Mr Odinga to a roadside gathering but locals started chanting 'United Democratic Alliance (UDA)'.

Efforts by police to calm them down proved futile as the youth did not allow the Azimio presidential candidate to continue his speech.

Mr Odinga tried to woo them with what Azimio la Umoja administration will do for the region but when he said 'Inawezekana' (it's possible), the locals responded: 'Ruto'.

While noting that this election needs to be peaceful, Mr Odinga pledged that his administration will work with everyone, even for those who are not his supporters.

ODM point man in the region, Kipkorir Menjo, who was one of the organisers of the Raila rally, condemned the incident asking Rift Valley residents to be tolerant.

"This happened due to influence of our opponents who do not want us to sell our agenda in the region. Voting is not taking place today, why send people to heckle us?" Mr Menjo posed.

Leaders including Suna East MP Junet Mohamed and his Embakasi East counterpart Babu Owino who accompanied Mr Odinga did not get to address the crowd.

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