In Summary:
- Arrest
- Counter accusations
- Rejoinder ~ Opara
Bungoma’s Aug 2022 general elections Senatorial candidate Mr. Enock Opara has arrested his 2 seconders at IEBC candidate registrations as well as a male campaigner over misuse of social media. The three are facing charges related to misuse of social media where
Mash a known blogger and MC was arrested after he posted a cheque belonging to Enock’s company prompting the politician to to seek police intervention. He is alleged to have indicated that Enock issues blank cheques and should therefore stop
Emmanuel Wangwe who posted the cheque, Sharon who was the custodian of the cheque book and Rael who was an all rounder but mostly logistics were arrested. Mash and Sharon were arraigned in a Bungoma court but were detained till Thursday 22nd June 2023 following a miscellaneous application to allow further investigations.
Opara indicates that his colleagues at the helm of the company are greatly aggrieved by the act of publicly displaying of a crucial company document which includes his signature in a way likely to paint it black.
Reached Sharon indicated that she does not understand why a man she used her own funds to finance his campaigns can turn on her like this. Among the things she mentioned include:
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- She was his first 2nd seconder at IEBC
- Loaned him money to come down on the eve to voting day
- The cheques he is alleging to have been stolen were actually given to stand in for debts one for fueling at mama Hersi another one for the bill at Tourist Hotel which on checking the accounts had no funds. This landed her at the police station following a summon.
Racheal his 1st seconder claims that;
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- To date he hasn’t paid agents she recruited.
- She also say a laptop that was given in kind by the same politician has turned out to have been stolen and she even slept at the cells over the same.
- she used her machines for documentation of Opara’s IEBC requirements which included getting signatures countywide
- A lady named Mary Asiko also alleges Opara paid and sent a person named Pamela Mutoro to beat and harass her just for reaching out to him to try and solve the rising issue. Mary also tried talking to Opara’s sister about the same but was also summoned at the station for harassment and threatening to kill.
She posed the questions:
1. Is a government facility i.e police station being misused to extend favors
2. Is it a crime to request for your dues in Kenya?
3. How can you advocate for youth empowerment and misuse the same youths by jailing them after working instead of appreciating via good pay?
Opara in a rejoinder indicated that he owes no one a single coin. That his campaign managers are the ones that were begging him for funds and not otherwise. He goes ahead to indicate that when he went for the person who had posted the cheque he didn’t know who was behind it, its the police through investigations that arrested the culprit and his accomplices.
