Mr Peter Okondo who was the labour Minister during President Daniel Moi's era once threatened to drown journalists in Lake Victoria after disobeying an order.
During a feature on the Sunday Nation, Nation Media Group journalist Kamau Ngotho revealed that the incident occurred in the 1990s which he described as one of the scariest events of his life.
While on assignment to cover Western Kenya, Mr Ngotho disclosed that Mr Okondo had directed journalists to give his rival then Assistant Minister Moody Awori a media blackout as they were holding parallel rallies.
The two rivals were in a supremacy battle for Busia District.
[caption caption="File image of Prof Moody Awori"]
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Defiantly, journalists gave Prof Awori's rally priority and later arrived at Mr Okondo's event when he was addressing a small crowd.
On sighting the journalists, Mr Okondo got angry that his directive had been ignored and ordered goons to remove the journalists and throw them into Lake Victoria.
He was speaking in vernacular which he used to refer to the journalists as “Moody Awori dogs paid to tarnish my good name.”
The journalists were sitting ducks as the thugs prepared to pounce on them.
Luckily, District Commissioner Ishmael Chelang’a intervened, taking the microphone from the Minister and issuing a warning to them.
Mr Chelang'a told the goons that they would face the full force of the law if they harmed any of the journalists.
[caption caption="File image of Former Cabinet Minister Peter Okondo"]
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He instructed the media crew to move closer to the dais so that he could ensure they were safe and further told the District Police Chief to make sure the journalists were escorted safely out of Busia.
