Tensions are running high in Kitui East after area MP Hon. Nimrod Mbai issued a fiery declaration during Madaraka Day celebrations in Voo-Kyamatu Ward, warning that no one will be allowed to criticize President William Ruto within the borders of his constituency.
Mbai, speaking before a charged crowd, made it clear that Kitui East is off-limits to anti-government sentiments. He stated that they would not tolerate anyone insulting the President while in Kitui East — not during funerals, not at the market, not at any public gathering.
The warning is being widely viewed as a veiled defense of an incident that occurred just days earlier, where Wiper nominated MCA Jacinta Mwoni was roughed up by a group of youths during a funeral in Makuka, Endau-Malalani Ward. Mwoni had moments before publicly endorsed Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka for the 2027 presidency when she was attacked.
The youths, believed to be affiliated with Mbai’s political base, disrupted the solemn occasion in full view of mourners — including the MP himself — who did not intervene as chaos unfolded.
Now, gender rights activists and civil society groups are demanding accountability, calling the attack a blatant case of politically motivated gender-based violence.
They argue that elected leaders must protect democratic space, not weaponize it against opponents, and have called on law enforcement to take immediate action against those who orchestrated the attack.
As the 2027 political wave begins to rise, Kitui East appears to be turning into a battleground, where loyalty to the Head of State may soon be enforced with fists instead of facts — and where even funerals are no longer safe from political violence.
