NAIROBI Senator Gidion Mbuvi has stepped in to broker a truce between Governor Evans Kidero and Women Representative Rachel Shebesh following the incident on Friday where the latter has alleged she was slapped.
Mbuvi said the spat had now taken a political angle that might derail the delivery of promises that the elected leaders made to city residents. He is hoping that both Kidero and Shebesh will withdraw the complaints they made to police after the fracas.
County representative Hashim Kamau, a close ally of Shebesh, who was present during the incident confirmed that talks were ongoing and a solution was in the offing.
Sonko accused some unnamed “political brokers” of working overtime to capitalize on the incident that he described as “unfortunate”. He cautioned Nairobi residents to be wary of some “briefcase NGOs” that wanted to remain relevant to their Western donors by getting involved.
“First and foremost, the Hon. Kidero and Hon. Shebesh are human beings. Secondly they are leaders. We should not be in a rush to judge them. Let us first remove the log in our eyes before we start pointing fingers. I urge everyone to be sober while discussing this incident which is under police investigations. The truth will come out one day,” Sonko said.
He said his decision to reconcile the two leaders might be “unpopular” with some people who wanted to thrive on the incident.
“I am been in constant talk with both parties and I can tell you we are moving very quickly and making very significant progress,” Sonko said yesterday.
“This should not be misconstrued to mean that I condone violence against women. I am one of the biggest supporters of women, both socially and financially, and I have supported many to join politics,” he said.
On Friday Shebesh stormed Kidero’s office at City Hall with around 30 workers demanding the full implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement last year.
A video of the incident went viral on social media on Friday.
Kidero recorded a statement at Central Police Station saying he had no recollection of assaulting Shebesh but claimed that she assaulted him “around his lower abdomen” something he found “embarrassing, disgusting and highly disrespectful.”
In a statement on Saturday he described the invasion of his office as a “despicable act of aggression on his personal integrity and that of the office of the governor.”
Shebesh also lodged a complaint on Friday at Parliament Police Station that Kidero slapped her.
The Kenya Women Parliamentary association and the Coalition on Violence Against Women have vowed to go to court to institute criminal charges against Kidero if he does not resign.
However Nkoka Ndiritu of Maendeleo ya Wanaume supported Kidero saying he must have been provoked beyond limit if at all he slapped Shebesh.
At least 20 TNA members of the Nairobi county assembly have said they will institute an impeachment motion against Dr Kidero when sessions resume on Tuesday.
– the-star.co.ke
