There's more than meets the eye in Mariga's convoy attack

The convoy of the Jubilee candidate in the Kibra mini-poll, McDonald Mariga, was attacked a few days ago along Ngong Road. This incident was bound to raise queries. First, no one was injured, the only damage reported was a broken window on one of the vehicles.

Secondly, the attack did not take place at the heart of Kibra constituency. The reactions of Mariga and his team also raise more suspicion. Even before the dust settled, the team started to politicise this matter. They claimed that ODM was behind the attack. They singled out ODM candidate Imran Okoth and Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati, who they said had mobilised goons to carry out the attack.

It still remains a mystery what evidence they had to reach such a conclusion. It also became a hopeless rabbit chase for the police, who could hardly gather any evidence that could nab the culprits, when the issue became politicised. There is a question that I have been struggling with: could this attack have been stage-managed?

The fact that Mariga's candidature in Kibra is being sponsored by powerful politicians is a banality. These politicians are good when it comes to politics of propaganda and deceit. So, if by any chance it could have dawned on them that their candidate was losing, my thinking is they could stage-manage such an incident to gain public sympathy.

I am strongly inclined to believe that the Kibra mini-poll is turning to be a bit protracted. I was in Kibra a few days ago and I witnessed one of the candidates dishing out money like he had just won a lottery. Also the issue of goons being hired to attack rivals' campaign rallies cannot be ignored despite my earlier assertions on Mariga.

I do wonder what exactly the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), under the able leadership of Wafula Chebukati, is doing to check the situation in Kibra. Kibra people deserve good leadership. It is a pity that their constituency has been turned into a bedrock of national politics by the country's political titans. This sitution should not be allowed to prevail.

To begin with, Mr Chebukati should be at hand to check what is happening in Kibra before more electoral malpractices are committed. Police should also give a keener look at the alleged violence in the campaigns, and even try to get to the bottom of Mariga's attack.