OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON ALLEGED ARMED MEN IN NGÚBÍ FOREST. I am writing this to refute claims that there are armed men hiding in Ngùbí forest Limuruconstituency Ready to attack the locals (Kikuyus). The forest is in the heart of Kikuyu land. On the western side we have Mai Mahiu, on the eastern side we have Mutarakwa/ Kamirithu. The forest borders Ndeiya on the northern side while in the southern side we have Ngarariga village. So anybody who would dare to hide in this forest to attack the locals would only be on a suicidal mission. In terms of security we have the Mutarakwa police post which literally borders the forest. The forest is also under 24 hours surveillance by the heavily armed Kenya forest service. So who could be the source of this rumour and what is the motive? My thinking is that the motive was to create tension and therefore mobilize the local youths to attack the Raila followers who were ferried from Kibera to Ntulele-Narok for the ODM RALLY on their way back to Kibera. This could have worked perfectly well because the Ntulele-Narok meeting started late (6 pm) and ended after 7 PM. It is also important to note that the Nairobi-Narok highway passes through the middle of Ngubi forest which would have made it easier for the local youths to waylay Raila FOLLOWERS on their way from Ntulele-Narok. As I conclude I want to call on all of us to be tolerant. Let us give Raila Odinga the space to hold his Rallies wherever and whenever. HOW DID THE RUMOUR START? It is alleged that a lorry for transporting sand was spotted in the heart of the forest- which is not strange anyway because the locals get their sand from Mai Mahiu which is a few kilometers away. It is alleged that this eye witness shared this information with a local who twisted the story that the lorry was actually not carrying sand but armed attackers. This was around 7 PM. the romours spread like world fire. Fearing the attack, most locals spent the night either in maize plantations or outside their houses armed to the teeth. The thinking from the locals was that the attackers were planning a massacre similar to the one that took place in Mpeketoni. what gave these rumours credence is the fact that the Mpeketoni attack took place after Raila held a similar rally in Mombasa. Ntulele-Narok is not very far from Limuru. The distance between this two places is approximately 30 KMs. Its is also important to note that most locals are convinced that the Mpeketoni attack was planed and executed with Railas blessings. It is also not lost to locals that the 2007/2008 post election violence was started by Raila after he called for mass action. signed hon. Francis Njenga shadow MP LIMURU
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 10:13:49 +0000