A member of Migori County Assembly was on Wednesday assaulted and her left arm broken as the assembly descended into chaos over the planned ouster of governor Okoth Obado.
The nominated MCA Mary Ogodo was attacked during a melee at the Migori county assembly ahead of the planned tabling of the impeachment motion against the County chief.
It forced sergeant-at-arms to run away with the mace, the symbol of power in the assembly, as they left members assaulting each other physically, verbally with bottles of water being thrown around.Ogodo was rushed to St Joseph Mission Hospital.
“She is in hospital, her left arm has been broken and she is receiving treatment. She can’t talk right now. She is in stable condition,” an aide told a local daily in a phone interview.
Tension started during the morning session as North Kanyamkago MCA George Omamba got orders from Migori High Court reinstating him as Deputy Speaker on Tuesday evening.
Omamba was impeached by his colleagues on May last year together with assembly clerk Tom Opere, with Bukira East MCA Mathews Chacha and Emmanuel Abala taking over in acting capacity amid court orders.
On Wednesday, trouble started as five pro-Obado MCAs led by Kaler MCA Thomas Akungo walked into the house which was in session and tried to disrupt the session as Omamba was still on the chair.
“The five MCAs were hiding in one of the offices in the assembly controlled by Obado’s relative before they made their way into the assembly and started creating chaos,” a staff said.
In the ensuing melee, the session was disrupted as Ogodo, who is said to be in support of the ouster, was attacked. She blamed Akungo for the melee.
Obado who spoke to a local daily on Tuesday September 22, 2020 revealed a new scheme that has now been employed by the Raila Odinga-led range party.
According to Obado, there are plans to use the police and investigative agencies to threaten ward representatives and county officials opposed to ODM’s plans to kick him out over graft and murder cases that the County chief is facing.
He went ahead to reveal details of a meeting that was held over the weekend in Kisii town where Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko allegedly met MCAs to give them an ultimatum to either support the ouster or be ready to face the consequences.
Obado claimed that during the Kisii meeting chaired by Ayacko, a 10-point impeachment motion was drafted with the help of a former magistrate.
He further claimed his rivals plan to use the police to cause chaos in the Assembly so that they can interfere with voting in the event the motion is finally tabled. The impeachment, sanctioned by ODM days after he was charged with graft has stalled for two weeks, amid tension and anxiety in Migori.
