A night out in Kitale turned into high political drama after former Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa pulled a gun on National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula’s protocol officer, Ben Juma, in a heated confrontation that nearly spiraled out of control.
The standoff unfolded on Saturday night inside a popular Kitale club, where Wamalwa was meeting Saboti MP aspirant Joseph Pepela. According to eyewitnesses and videos seen by SIAYA TODAY chaos erupted when Juma stormed into the venue, accusing Pepela of repeatedly disrespecting Wetang’ula, the FORD Kenya Party leader.
As tempers flared, Wamalwa was seen drawing his firearm, shouting “Tawe! Tawe!” — a Luhya term for refusal — as he tried to restrain the confrontation. Witnesses struggled to pull him back as he aimed the weapon in Juma’s direction.
“Please get out. Tawe, we cannot fight at the club. Let us not disrespect each other,” Wamalwa shouted, visibly agitated.
But Juma, undeterred, retorted: “We respect you a lot, Chris, but who is Pepela? He has been disrespecting the party leader and we must teach him a lesson.”
Security quickly intervened, escorting Juma out of the premises before shots were fired. The tense exchange left patrons shaken, with some accusing both camps of dragging their party supremacy wars into public spaces.
Neither Wamalwa nor Wetang’ula’s office has commented on the incident, which has already ignited fierce debate in Trans Nzoia’s political circles.
The club brawl comes barely a week after another ugly political confrontation in Kisii, where MPs Anthony Kibagendi and Nyakundi fought at a funeral, underlining a rising trend of violent political theatrics.
With the Saboti and Kiminini races heating up, Saturday’s showdown is being read as a warning of escalating turf wars that could define Western Kenya politics ahead of 2027.
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