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Police investigate abduction and torture of Eldoret blogger
Julius Bitok, an aspirant in the Uasin Gishu County gubernatorial seat looks on as a nurse attends to Tony Chumba, his media strategist, admitted at St Luke's Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on March 30, 2022.
Police in Eldoret are investigating the alleged kidnapping and beating of a communication strategist for a gubernatorial aspirant in Uasin Gishu County.
Mr Tony Chumba, alias Barmuriat, is a digital strategist for Julius Bitok, who is eyeing the governor’s seat.
Mr Chumba, who was found dumped near the Sosian River, was admitted at St Luke’s Orthopedic and Trauma Hospital.
Tony Chumba, the media strategist for Julius Bitok, a Uasin Gishu County gubernatorial seat aspirant, admitted at St Luke's Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on March 30, 2022.
He was allegedly abducted from a street in Eldoret on Tuesday night while heading to his home in Pioneer estate.
His father Shadrack Kaptingei told the Nation at St Luke’s hospital that his son suffered injuries all over his body.
“My son was tortured and injured badly all over his body. He also sustained a swollen eye and is traumatised, and I believe he was kidnapped for political reasons by people known to him,” Mr Kaptingei said.
Turbo Sub-County Police Commander Edward Masibo addresses the press at Eldoret Police Station in Uasin Gishu County on March 30, 2022, following the kidnap allegations of Tony Chumba, a media strategist working with gubernatorial aspirant Julius Bitok.
The incident was being investigated and detectives were zeroing in on suspects, said Eldoret Central Police Commander Edward Masibo.
“We received the kidnap report and a special team comprising CID sleuths and regular police swung into action and managed to (find) the victim at dawn near his home within Pioneer estate,” he said.
Mr Masibo warned politicians against engaging in hooliganism, saying police were on high alert and will arrest anyone found breaching peace.
“We are treating this as an isolated case of political intolerance, but kidnapping is a criminal offense. We are waiting for the victim’s statement once he gets out of hospital to enable us to decipher the motive behind the incident,” he added.
Political rivals
Julius Bitok (centre), an aspirant for the Uasin Gishu County gubernatorial seat accompanied by his supporters addresses the press at Eldoret Police Station in Uasin Gishu County on March 30, 2022, following the alleged kidnapping of his media strategist Tony Chumba within Eldoret town on Tuesday night.
Mr Bitok, for his part, claimed supporters of one of his political opponents were responsible for the kidnapping.
“These are the works of one of my competitors and I want to call him out for notoriety and consistent use of violence in his campaigns. This is not the first time such thuggish behaviour is being witnessed,” he said at the Eldoret Central Police Station.
“In the past few weeks, he has persistently tried to lock me and some other aspirants from accessing some parts of Eldoret.”
He said the use of hooliganism for political reasons should end and urged the police to ensure those responsible were brought to book.
“The same goons stoned my motorcade some few weeks ago. Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and his Soy counterpart Caleb Kositany have also been stoned by the same group,” he said.
He said that using violence to intimidate competitors is outdated and should be condemned.
“We urge our opposing team not to transfer those mannerisms to our new political party UDA,” he said.
He urged residents to weed out leaders who are hell-bent on causing mayhem for political gain, saying aspirants should be free to campaign anywhere without intimidation.
“We should shun leaders who want to ascend to power using acts of violence. All aspirants should commit to peaceful campaigns because we need the country after the election,” he said.
