United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairman Johnstone Muthama and General Secretary Veronica Maina were forced to flee on Thursday when police disrupted a party rally in Mombasa.
Similar rallies that were scheduled to take place in other parts of the country such as Meru and Nandi were also disrupted by police earlier this week.
UDA members now claim that the government is harassing them out of fear of the party’s popularity, especially after winning various political seats in the by-elections since it was registered last year.
“If you think UDA has brought a lot of competition, the wise thing for you is to organize your parties. No one has stopped them from organizing your parties for fair competitions, ”said Ms Maina.
Police in the Nyali area yesterday interrupted a meeting of the party linked to Deputy President William Ruto, saying they had not been notified in advance about it, and it was also illegal to ban political rallies during the corona disaster.
Among the about 100 members in attendance are those who plan to seek a UDA ticket to use for various Pwani seats in the 2022 elections.
“Police should be sent to deal with criminals who cut people off on the streets instead of attacking us for no reason,” said one of the delegates.
Other senior party leaders also fled for fear of being arrested by police.
Following his dismissal, police barricaded the entrance to the Terrace Villa Resort Hotel, where the meeting had been held. UDA officials had put up security at the gate to ensure that only invited members could enter.
The invitation message, which Taifa Leo saw as being sent to some members, said only members who completed the registration fee would be allowed to enter.
Mr Ali Mazrui, who is planning to run for council in Jomvu Ward, blamed the police for disrupting the meeting.
“We had followed all the Ministry of Health regulations regarding Covid-19 avoidance and even informed the police. But before we could finish the first session, the police stormed in and ordered us all to leave, ”said Mr Mazrui.
Ms Esther Chepng’etich, who is planning to contest for the party’s ticket for the Mombasa County women’s representative, said the meeting was one of many planned to train prospective candidates on various political issues and party campaign strategies.
The Wilibaro logo party said yesterday’s meeting was attended by delegates from all Coast counties namely Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Tana River and Lamu.
Before the police raided and dispersed those present, Ms Maina had called on members to work hard to register a larger number of members.
Earlier, lawmakers leaning towards Dr Ruto in the Coast region had announced that they had made ambitious plans to curb the popularity of Governor Hassan Joho. Similarly, Dr Ruto’s insiders in the Coast region are expected to confront leaders planning to form a Coastal political party.
In an earlier interview, Nyali MP Mohamed Ali emphasized that there was not enough time to seek prominence for the new Coastal party before the next general election.
