Attempts by Information minister Raphael Tuju to campaign for a Yes vote in Nyanza were disrupted yesterday for the fourth day when he ran into a hostile crowd near Kisumu.

Scores of people, among them four policemen, were injured when rowdy Orange supporters confronted the minister in Ahero and Rabuor townships.

He ran into trouble as he took the campaign for the proposed Constitution to the No-vote dominated province, with only 24 days to the referendum in which more than 11 million registered voters are expected to vote for or against the proposals.

Police lobbed tear gas canisters on the crowd to protect the Rarieda MP, who had earlier addressed a meeting at the Ahero multi-purpose centre, where he urged the Nyanza community to support the Government.

Accompanied by former Nyando MP Otieno Karan and a former personal assistant to Roads minister Raila Odinga, Mr Herbert Ojwang', the minister said he had founded the People's Progressive Party to strengthen the community's bargain for the country's leadership.

"Like good hunters, we should scatter ourselves in all directions to trap the animal. This is what other communities have done by positioning themselves in different political parties," Mr Tuju said.

During the skirmishes, the minister's official car was pelted with stones and oranges as he drove from the centre to the nearby Onjiko primary school where his campaign helicopter had landed. Vehicles belonging to several other motorists were also stoned.

Escorted by supporters and guarded by riot police, a defiant Mr Tuju walked for a about two kilometres from the school to the centre amid shouts of ndizi ndizi (banana, banana)as the Orange opponents re-grouped.

A police officer was injured on the leg after he was hit with a huge stone during the riot that disrupted traffic on the busy Kisumu-Kisii road for nearly 30 minutes.

Rabuor primary school, where Mr Tuju later landed for his second campaign of the day, was turned into a battle field as Orange supporters armed with slings, stoned his entourage.

School children scampered for safety as pro-orange supporters surged towards the school, singing anti-government slogans. They aimed stones at the helicopter but missed.

Political rejects

Mr Ojwang' said it was wrong for some LDP officials to brand PPP officials as political rejects.

"Contrary to claims by our detractors, it's the current MPs from this region who are rejects because they bribed their way into Parliament," Mr Ojwang' said.

And at Kisumu's Central Police Station, a mob of Orange supporters demanded a permit to hold a meeting in Kisumu on Saturday.

The group that included mayor Priscah Auma walked into the station in the afternoon to protest at failure by the police to allow the meeting at the Moi Stadium, where Mr Tuju is expected to address a meeting on the same day.

Police officers in riot gear surrounded the office as their boss ordered the group to leave his office. The protestors accused the police of applying double standards.

The police boss was however unmoved by the charged group and maintained he would not grant them a licence to hold any meeting within the town on the same day citing violence threats.

Mr Kilonzi said: "We are not giving any other licence for any meeting in the town this Saturday. Mr Tuju and his group made applications earlier and we granted them permission."

Mr Tuju has also been touring Nyanza to popularise his party - the People's Progressive Party - which he formed recently.

On Tuesday, a helicopter carrying the minister failed to land at Sagam primary school in Gem because rowdy youths had lit a bonfire on a field where it was to land.

The minister had earlier addressed an incident-free meeting in Yala Town, but the aircraft was unable to land since the pro-Orange youths stoked the fire as the chopper hovered above.

The minister had also addressed a meeting at Muhoroni and asked the crowd why the community was hostile to him for working closely with President Kibaki yet his Roads colleague Raila Odinga had also publicly stated he was a friend to the President.

On Monday, Mr Tuju received a hostile reception in Mbita but still addressed meetings in Ndhiwa and Nyatike.

Police had to fire in the air to disperse rowdy youths, who attempted to block the minister from boarding his helicopter, for a trip to Homa Bay.

The intruders pelted Mr Tuju's car with stones and oranges before they were dispersed by police.

On Sunday, a similar reception awaited the minister in neighbouring Migori, where a group pelted his vehicle with oranges before police moved in.

The minister, however, vowed to continue with the campaigns saying he feared no one, and that he had not expected a smooth road since he was introducing a new ideology in Nyanza.

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