Two Kenyan Members of Parliament
(MPs) have exchanged blows at a funeral after one of them insinuated that the
other was corrupt.
“We have several leaders here in
the company of our deputy president who have a tainted life. These are
fraudsters who should not be allowed to take up any leadership position,” said
Dagoretti North MP, Simba Arati, Standard news site reports.
MP Sylvanus Osoro, who had just
addressed mourners, jumped from his seat and confronted Mr Arati and a scuffle
broke out.
It’s unclear if Mr Osoro was
punched, shoved or kicked but a picture shared online showed him sitting on the
ground but with enough clues to suggest he didn’t get there willingly.
Mr Osoro is an ally of Deputy
President Willian Ruto while Mr Arati is a strong supporter of opposition
leader Raila Odinga, both of whom were present at the funeral.
They are seen as the leading
contenders in next year’s presidential election and have been engaging in an
intensified war of words at political rallies and funerals.
A campaign to change the
constitution is the latest issue that has them and their political lieutenants
engaged in popularity contests which sometimes turn physical.
Standoff at a funeral in Kisii being attended by DP Ruto & ODM leader Raila as MPs Simba Arati and Sylvanus Osoro clash pic.twitter.com/3Aao0xBDev
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) February 1, 2021
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