My life is in danger, says ailing Migori Speaker

The Speaker of Migori County Assembly, Boaz Okoth, claims his life is in danger after a group of people on Friday night (September 4) stormed his rented house in Kisumu, where he is receiving treatment, and accused him of hiding a section of ODM MCAs.

Okoth is under a treatment programme at the Aga Khan Hospital after he was involved in an accident several months ago. For the past five months, he has been at the Nyanza city, where he opted to rent a house throughout his treatment so that he saves on time and travel costs.

Okoth told K24 Digital that at around 11pm Friday, he heard tens of youth shouting outside his rented apartment in Milimani, threatening to harm him if he “continued locking ODM MCAs in his house”.

“I was with my son, Ochieng, and close relatives in the house. At 11pm, I was woken up by noise of people shouting my name. They were saying they know that Migori MCAs are holed up in my rented apartment. Some of the people in the group were saying: ‘today, we are going to deal with you thoroughly’. I, thereafter, called my bodyguard, who, while trying to access my house, was attacked by the goons,” said Okoth, adding that there was no single MCA hiding in his house.

“I managed to sneak out of the house using an alternative gate and went to Kisumu Central Police Station, where I reported the matter.

“My life is in danger over what is happening in Migori. I am a sick man, I have been ailing for a very long time. I am wondering why hired goons are making threats on my life. Why would people speculate on what I am doing, yet I am only a Speaker of the House?

“When the desperation goes this low, until I am attacked in a far-off land, then I have to fear for my life,” said Okoth, who has been ailing for one year now.

The Speaker said a top ODM official accuses him of being an impediment to the impeachment of Governor Okoth Obado over graft allegations.

Early this week, ODM Chairman, John Mbadi, said that the Party, which sponsored Obado’s re-election bid in the August 8, 2017 general election, had lost faith in the county chief due to his alleged involvement in graft, and that it wanted the governor impeached.

ODM vowed to use MCAs affiliated to the Party to push for Obado’s ejection, however noting that the process “won’t be easy” because the governor enjoys considerable support in his Migori turf.