Raila was speaking when he went to visit the governor at Nairobi Hospital where he is receiving further treatment after being airlifted from Bomet County.
Cord leader Raila Odinga on Monday condemned the attack on Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto following a confrontation with police officers in his county.
Recommended articles
Governor Ruto sustained a cut below his right eye after a teargas canister hit him when he came to the aid of his supporters at a public event.
Worrying trend
The Cord leader said the attack was a worrying continuing trend which the government employs as a way of dealing with dissent and its opponents.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We condemn this incident in very strong terms for its revocation of the freedom of assembly, speech and association as guaranteed by the Constitution and the agenda of hate and intolerance which has been taking roots in the country,” Raila said.
Raila said the country must not be allowed to recede into the era of primitive use of State resources for the protection of partisan and illegal political interests.
He blamed the Jubilee Government whose leaders he said had resulted to intimidation and threats targeted to those who oppose them.
“We have reason to believe things will take more worrying turn as we get closer to elections. This must not be allowed to be the shape our politics and public life again. We have been here before and we must never go there again,” Raila said.
Governor Ruto had earlier condemned the incident saying that the police action was unprovoked and gratuitous.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It is apparent that they were operating under political instructions and not through the dictates of the law,” Ruto said.
