Four people, including the chief of staff of Nandi, Governor Cleophas Lagat, were on Monday seriously injured after anti-referendum hooligans attacked their meeting in Kapsabet.
The meeting had been convened by URP to decide on an official party position on the proposed referendum and had been attended by six MPs, all opposed to the referendum.
Chaos broke out when the two opposing factions of the Pesa Mashinani campaign engaged in a confrontation near the URP offices.
The governor's chief of staff, Timon Kosgei, was then picked out for supporting the referendum. The Nandi governor, buoyed by support from the members of his county assembly, has defied calls to abandon the referendum campaign.
Kosgei then left the meeting venue to sit in his car after the mob turned rowdy. They followed him and dragged him out before hitting him on the head with a large stone.
The also suffered chest injuries and fell down unconscious as three others were mercilessly beaten. The casualties were admitted at the Kapsabet District Hospital.
A former Kapsabet mayor, David Ng'etich, who was in the car with Kosgei, jumped out and took refuge in a police car as the youths bayed for his blood. They claimed that the pro-referendum group was undermining Deputy President William Ruto.
The governor's press secretary, Kipkorir Birgen, condemned the attack in an interview.
"We are all working under one government. It is wrong to bring in goons to force people to follow what they want. Nandi is part of Kenya and not an isolated county," he said.
Chaos erupted soon after Chesumei MP Elijah Lagat defected from the pro-referendum camp, announcing that he was following the party line.
Governor Lagat, who had been summoned to attend the meeting, boycotted it and did not send a representative, unlike the case last week when he dispatched his deputy Dominic Biwott.
Another notable absentee was outspoken Nandi-Hills MP Alfred Keter, who over the weekend attended the launch of the governors' referendummeetings in Bomet and Kakamega.
Legislators who attended yesterday's meeting were Senator Stephen Sang', Women's representative Zipporah Kering', and MPs Lagat, Kirwa Bitok (Mosop), Elijah Lagat (Chesumei) and Cornelius Serem (Aldai).Tinderet MP Julius Meli and Emgwen MP Alexander Kosgeiwere absent with apologies.
All URP nominated MCAs who have been threatened with recall if they support the referendum were also present yesterday.
Of the 30 elected MCAs, only four were present while the rest remain behind the governor.
The leaders criticised Governor Lagat for working with those they called 'enemies of Jubilee' to push for a referendum that they said would undermine the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto.
The leaders issued a notice to the governor that he risked the wrath of the party if he did not change his tune. Birgen dismissed the threats, saying it was Lagat's constitutional right to say what he deems fit for the electorate and cannot be dictated to by anyone.
"The governor has made no mistake. What he is asking is to demand more allocations for devolved functions and heis not undermining Jubilee," Birgen added.
Source: The Star
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