Moses Kuria Accuses ODM MCA of Roughing Him Up at BBI Meeting

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria claims that he was roughed up by an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MCA during the Saturday’s Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) consultative forum in Mombasa.

Kuria, through a Facebook post on Saturday night, alleged that Makongeni Ward MCA Peter Imwatok accosted and manhandled him during the event staged at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa. Kuria said that the Ward Representative took the action after he allegedly refused to stand up when Odinga arrived at the function.

“Dear Raila Amolo Odinga. This is MCA Peter Imwatok of Makongeni, Nairobi, who accosted me, took away my BBI hat and even my seat at the Mombasa BBI meeting.”

 “He is also the ODM minority whip in Nairobi County. My fault? Refusing to stand up when Baba [Raila] entered the venue. Question: Baba is this how Kenya would be if you were to become President?” he posed.

The meeting ended abruptly, just before MP Kuria gave his speech, with media reports indicating that Odinga ordered its closure and hurriedly left the podium after tensions began to rise.

For the first time, leaders allied to Deputy President William Ruto, among them Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Susan Kihika as well as MPs Moses Kuria, Aisha Jumwa and Mohamed Ali attended the event. 

It remains unclear why the leaders, who had previously dismissed BBI forums as a scheme by Odinga to bolster his 2022 presidential bid, changed their minds and decided to attend the meetings. Speaking at the meeting, Senator Murkomen threw his weight behind the calls for a referendum and creation of a Prime Minister position.