This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
On Tuesday night, a live TV debate between candidates vying in the Kibra parliamentary by-elections turned heated as two of the candidates resorted to personal attacks.
The debate, organized by NTV, brought together four candidates, including ANC's Eliud Owalo, Fork Kenya's Khamisi Butichi, Narc Kenya's Elijah Nyamwamu, and Hamida Mala from the United Green Movement.
However, the debate quickly took a turn for the worse as Owalo and Butichi dominated the conversation with constant jibes at each other, which eventually degenerated into personal insults.
The tension began when Owalo claimed he would help Kibra families with logistics to bury their loved ones in their home countries.
He specifically mentioned that he had assisted Butichi's family in the past, including helping to transport his brother's body.
"One of the biggest challenges the people of Kibra face is in transporting their loved ones when they have passed on. It must sound basic but it's a big problem…Engineer Butichi may not be aware but I have personally helped his family when they were stranded with his brother's body, I hired a bus to transport the body home," Owalo said.
Butichi was quick to dispute Owalo's claims, accusing him of transporting ODM brigade members instead of his brother's body.
"No no no, you only transported ODM brigades. The bus you hired was for ODM brigade, it was not for the body. I am part of the family so I know. My uncle died while working for him and he promised to take care of his two kids," Butichi said.
"Up to this day, he has not sent a single cent I am the one who has been taking care of those kids. He has brought this issue on the table so we need to discuss it fully, you promised but that promise was not kept," Butichi complained.
Despite the heated exchange, the debate continued, with other candidates attempting to steer the conversation back to their respective manifestos.
Notably, Jubilee's McDonald Mariga and ODM's Imran Okoth skipped the debate.
