Standard Team

Three people were yesterday killed during yesterday’s Banana rally in Kisumu City.

More than a dozen others were shot while scores were bludgeoned by police officers.

A number of officers had their plastic helmets burst by vicious stones as others became victims of their own teargas when canisters were swiftly returned to them by riotous mobs.

Three of those shot and the woman were fighting for their lives at different hospitals.

Among those seriously injured was former Bondo MP William Odongo Omamo. The politician was admitted to Aga Khan Hospital, Kisumu, where his condition was said to be stable.

Police descended on a crowd surrounding the unidentified woman, who was selling mandazis at Kachok, about a kilometre from the venue of the rally, and injured her and three others.

She was ferried to hospital in a Red Cross ambulance.

The 7am incident triggered off the day-long running battles between police and defiant Kisumu residents.

It was in this sea of chaos, echoes of gunfire and plumes of teargas smoke that a defiant Minister for Information and MP for Rarieda, Raphael Tuju, addressed a crowd of about 500 people — all ferried to the stadium and locked in before the protesters took charge of the town and its neighbourhood.

Tuju’s Cabinet colleagues Martha Karua (Water), Joseph Munyao (Livestock) and Amos Kimunya (Lands), constantly conferred on their mobile phones.

Also in attendance were Kivutha Kibwana, John Munyes, and Otieno K’Opiyo.

The vehicles ferrying the Banana luminaries to Moi Grounds, where the rally took place, abandoned the direct route instead using an alternative one — to dodge barricades erected by protesters — under tight security, with GSU officers holding their guns at the ready.

Police arrested scores of people, including at least two Banana supporters from Tuju’s Rarieda constituency who were in possession of axes.

Tension had been building up in the town from Friday night but got worse yesterday when word spread that Tuju was ferrying people from outside the town to attend his rally.

Youths quickly blocked all roads and for the whole day, no vehicles left or entered Kisumu.

Police were forced to fire in the air and lob teargas at an Orange mob that had earlier converged at the entrance of the Moi Grounds.

A Form Four candidate at the Kisumu Day School, Moses Odhiambo, was clubbed and left for dead after he was caught in the fracas that unfolded a few metres from the school.

After the rally ended after 3pm, the VIPs were escorted out of the stadium by GSU personnel to waiting cars.

They were taken straight to Kisumu Airport — which was itself sealed off by security personnel — from where they were flown to Nairobi.

Addressing the rally, Tuju, Karua and Kimunya accused some politicians of organising "the thuggery" to thwart the function.

"Ignore those people making noise outside. They have been paid to cause chaos but we are least perturbed," said Kimunya.

Tuju said the youths had been paid by his detractors who are incapable of initiating development in the region.

"I will not be deterred by the violence and I will return to Kisumu and hold rallies in various parts of Luo Nyanza," he said.

They declared they had embarked on a campaign to liberate the Luo community from the yoke of Roads Minister Raila Odinga.

The ministers said it was only through such political liberation that the community would be able to fight poverty and other economic disadvantages.

"I formed the PPP to give an alternative voice to the community and create democracy. This is why we have the ‘Yes’ rally here today and I am focused to hold such similar meetings often in the region," said Tuju.

Kimunya said: "You people should know there is life beyond one person and that is why Tuju should be heard and his ideologies and principles supported," he said.

Karua said unlike Raila, Tuju does not want to become a king.

"It is high time you people diversified your politics and joined PPP and become part of Kenya," she said.