No love is lost between Lugari Ward Member of the County Assembly (MCA), Grey Moi, and his competitor, William Libombolo Makhalanya, as the latter accuses the former of tarnishing his name with murder plot claims.
Makhalanya now says he’s staging a new legal battle (on top of the one already in court concerning the August 9 election) to have Moi answer why his allies are spreading rumors that he is plotting to kill him.
Makhalanya recently filed a petition in the Kakamega Law Courts seeking to nullify the election of Moi as Lugari Ward MCA on grounds of lack of trust in the manner in which the polls were conducted, and that seems to escalate the rivalry between the two politicians.
The judgement on the petition, which is being conducted virtually, will be made in a few days to come as lawyers of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and those of Grey Moi face off with those of Mr. Makhalanya.
In a recent interview with the Western Kenya Times, Mr. Moi admitted that he finds it hard serving the people of Lugari Ward because of the case facing him.
“I need to be given time to work for my people, but now I am running up and down attending to court cases and at the same time attending to my office duties. I pray that the case is determined in my favor so that Lugari Ward can move forward,” he said.
Rumours on murder plot claims
Mr. Makhalanya has castigated his opponent for sending his allies in public forums to tarnish his name by claiming that he is plotting to kill him.
The leader said he has evidence of the MCA’s personal assistants and a close relative standing and talking ill about him in several funerals in Lugari Ward, including two occasions in two different funerals on Friday.
“Some close relatives to Grey Moi and his personal assistants are going round with my name in their mouths saying that I want to kill him…what I understand in my heart, I don’t have the time of killing, I have the time of working for the people of Lugari. And if they know I know how to kill, let them wait until the day I will kill someone,” he said.
Makhalanya said that going to court was his right as a citizen of Kenya and in accordance with the law, and that he doesn’t have anything against Grey Moi.
“I took the IEBC to court, not Moi. It is the IEBC that dragged in his name because he was the winner and therefore has a case to answer,” he said.
The leader said he is ready to move on whichever the outcome, and that he’ll still use his resources to work for the people of Lugari.
“I have presented my part in the case and I am looking forward to a positive outcome. If the court rules against me, however, I am still ready to use my own resources to ensure the people of Lugari get services, just like I have been doing before,” he said.
Asked whether he is ready to meet Mr. Moi and iron out their differences, Mr. Makhalanya said the burden of approaching another is not placed on him but Mr. Moi who is now his leader.
“It is the leader who summons his junior for a talk. I cannot do so, Mr. Moi is the one to step up and have us ponder on the issues instead of spreading rumours about me,” he said.
Attempts to reach out to Mr. Grey Moi for a response on the claims were futile but we will be trying again so as to listen to his side of the story.
Sam Oduor is the founder and one of the editors at WKT. With a strong background in Communication and Journalism, Sam is an experienced digital media expert currently building a team of young professionals dedicated to telling the story of our community in a unique, authentic way.
