A gang, suspected to be hired goons, on Monday disrupted a press conference called by former Nairobi Central Business District Business Association (NCBDA) Chairman Timothy Muriuki.
Mr Muriuki had called the media to give his stand on the state of Nairobi, which has been beset by many challenges including garbage and floods, at the Hotel Boulevard.
PIECES
But when he emerged and started his address, two men intercepted him, roughing him up as journalists watched and recorded the drama.
The attackers, who claimed Mr Muriuki was out to tarnish Governor Mike Sonko’s name, first tore his statement into pieces.
They dragged him away by the collar of his coat and forced him out of the hotel’s gate where he was attacked by a mob that was waiting there.
The men grabbed Mr Muriuki and forcibly led him out of the hotel as he pleaded with them to let him finish reading the statement and hear what he had to say.
The men grabbed Mr Muriuki (centre) and forcibly led him out of the hotel. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The men would not listen.
At some point in the scuffle, the attackers argued between themselves whether to throw the ex-chairman into the swimming pool.
They only stopped when confronted by journalists.
SONKO
At the gate, the mob, which was hitherto idling on motorcycles, punched and kicked the former NCBDA boss, forcing him to run for cover at the Norfolk Towers where he spent hours.
They also pushed and forced him to sit in a puddle of dirty water along the road pavement.
Journalists who waited for Mr Muriuki to come out from the gated compound were chased away by Administration Police who arrived shortly after the chaos.
They dragged him away by the collar of his coat and forced him out of the hotel’s gate where he was attacked by a mob that was waiting there. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
“I don’t know why they were harassing me. They must have been briefed that there was a guy who wanted to bash the governor, but as you can see from the statement, I am actually in support of him,” Mr Muriuki later told the Nation in a phone interview.
He said he would recover first before thinking of his next step.
Part of the statement says Nairobians should stop blaming all their current problems on Mr Sonko because he inherited them from the previous regime.
SOLUTIONS
He says although Nairobi’s woes— including poor drainage, floods, garbage mess and high crime rate— were are worsening, it was wrong to heap blame only on the governor.
“Let us separate politicking from service delivery and let us give Governor Sonko a chance to deploy his delivery team, part of which was sworn-in hardly a fortnight ago,” his statement reads in part.
“Even as we demand that the governor play his part in making Nairobi better, let us bear in mind that Nairobi—which was the ultimate theatre of the dreadful political pandemonium of 2017 politics—was literally ungovernable until the beginning of 2018.”
He suggests that solutions can be found if the city’s professionals work together with the county government.
“A deliberate and widespread campaign aimed at enhancing vigilance by residents themselves as a deterrent to crime be launched and supported by among others, the National Police, NCBDA and the County Government of Nairobi,” Mr Muriuki had written.
Mr Muriuki in the statement also urges Kenyans to give the governor space to choose his deputy in peace.
Mr Sonko and City Hall were yet to react to the attack carried out in the name of the governor by the time of publishing this story.
-nation.co.ke
