Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has described claims that he sponsored former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's heckling at Gusii Stadium on Sunday as utter mediocrity.
In a statement on Saturday night, the ODM Senator denied involvement in the incident, revealing that he was out of the county for work in Mombasa when the heckling happened.
He also absolved Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi of any blame, stating that he was also out of the county for work.
"I am out for work in Mombasa, and my brother Kibagendi is equally out on work commitments. It is ridiculously stupid for anyone to link any of us with what happened in Gusii Stadium today," he stated.
"It is unreasonably absurd for someone to imagine that an individual can mobilise/pay more than 15,000 passionate football fans to attend a football match, something they have always done unrelentlessly before without any iota of influence from anyone."
He added that Shabana FC's football fans, who are world-renowned die-hard fans, need not be paid to attend matches.
However, Onyonka denounced the incident as regrettable but called for a reevaluation by those involved to determine why Odinga was being resisted in Kisii County.
"The events that happened in Kisii this afternoon are regrettable. Nevertheless, this should serve as a wake-up call to the concerned players to scrutinise and know why the people are/were resisting Baba Raila Odinga in Kisii," he added.
"Violence and chaos have never been my cup of tea for the more than 2 decades that I have actively participated in politics. My constituents can attest to this. I discourage political intolerance and call upon our people to act with restraint and soberness in the future."
The Senator was responding to claims by several social media users who blamed the two Kisii politicians for sponsoring Odinga's heckling although they were still members of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party following a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with United Democratic Alliance.
On Sunday afternoon, the ODM Party leader's arrival at the Gusii Stadium was met with hostility from the football fans who started shouting "Raila must go" and "Ruto must go", marking the most recent opposition that Odinga has received since signing the MoU.
Onyonka has publicly claimed that he supports former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i for the presidency in the upcoming 2027 elections. He often aligns with the opposition despite his ODM party aligning with the government.
