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Maragua MP Mary Wamau was on Friday denied entry into Kasarani Stadium by rowdy goons. [Courtesy]
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party has apologised to Maragua MP Mary Wamaua following a Friday incident, in which she was allegedly manhandled at the Kasarani Stadium.
It was during the event, dubbed Azimio la Umoja Convention, that ODM leader Raila Odinga announced that he will run for the presidency in the 2022 General Election.
Wamaua was among the tens of MPs who made their way to Kasarani Stadium for the former prime minister’s big announcement.
However, unlike her colleagues who easily accessed the venue, she had a tiff with security guards manning the entrance, resulting in her making an about-turn and returning home.
In a subsequent interview with The Standard, she claimed she had been denied entry into Kasarani Stadium by “goons”.
According to her, non-professional security officers were manning the entrances, and that they appeared to have not received training on how to separate valid VIP guests, from wannabes.
“My bodyguards’ intervention efforts were frustrated by the goons,” she told The Standard.
“I was bundled out of the venue like a sack of potatoes. As a result, I got annoyed and left the stadium,” said Wamaua.
“It’s very unfortunate that Azimio la Umoja, an event founded on peace and unity, had elements of roughness and disorder,” she said, adding: “I am urging Raila Odinga to rein in on that errant group.”
The altercation was caught on video, which went viral on social media.
Terming the incident as “ugly”, and one that the party “regrets”, ODM, through its national chairperson John Mbadi, says it commits “to ensure such incidents do not happen again”.
“We shall do everything within our limits to protect, defend and uphold the dignity of women at all times,” Mbadi said in a press statement on Saturday.
“On behalf of the ODM party, I take this opportunity to publicly apologise to Wamaua for the indecent handling, and pray that she and the good people of Maragua will accept our apology,” said the ODM chairperson.
Pundits observe that Wamaua appears undecided on whose political camp she wants to be in, with the legislator recently linked to the factions of both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, who have since fallen out.
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