This archive report was first published on 25 August 2019.
On August 25, 2019, a heated rally at Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi turned chaotic when Imran Okoth, brother of the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth, was forced to abandon his speech due to intense heckling from the crowd.
Imran was among the speakers at the rally convened by Orange Democratic Party (ODP) leader Raila Odinga, who was expected to unveil ODP candidates for the vacant Kibra parliamentary seat.
However, the youth in attendance were not interested in listening to Imran, instead shouting 'Toka hapo, toka kabisa!' which roughly translates to 'Leave now, leave completely!' making it impossible for him to address the crowd.
As the situation escalated, Imran was eventually forced to leave the podium amidst cheers from the rowdy youth.
The crowd's anger towards Imran was reportedly fueled by his role in overseeing the cremation of his late brother, Ken Okoth, who died on July 26, 2019, at the Nairobi Hospital from colorectal cancer.
Ken Okoth's cremation on August 3, 2019, at the Kariokor Crematorium was met with opposition from some family members, including his mother.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had already set November 7, 2019, as the date for the by-election, with the campaign period commencing on September 9 and running until November 4.
