This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
Published on August 8, 2020, at 3:11 PM, a motorcade of at least eight vehicles belonging to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe was attacked with stones in Kakamega Town.
The residents' anger was directed towards Kagwe's motorcade after area governor Wycliffe Oparanya allegedly ordered the demolition of their business stalls early Saturday morning to 'pave way for the grand arrival of Kagwe.'
According to eyewitnesses, Oparanya had arrived at his office at around 7am in preparation for welcoming the Ministry of Health boss to the county. However, his convoy was also stoned as he attempted to address the aggrieved crowd.
Initially, a meeting between Oparanya and Kagwe was scheduled to take place at the governor's office early Saturday, followed by a tour of Mumias Level 4 Hospital and a press conference at the Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
However, Kagwe's procession, which arrived in Kakamega from Kisumu airport at around 11am, was forced to reroute to the Mumias Level 4 Hospital after hundreds of youth pelted it with stones to express their anger at the bulldozing of their business premises.
At the time, Oparanya had already left his office for Mumias Hospital.
'We are told Governor Oparanya brought down the structures to pave way for the arrival of CS Kagwe's convoy. According to the county boss, he wanted Kakamega Town to look 'presentable' before the eyes of the minister,' a trader said.
'We don't understand how our stalls stop the cabinet secretary from dispensing his duties when he tours Kakamega,' the trader added.
