Activist Injured in Attack as Lobby Group Files Petition to Remove Energy and Trade CS's
By James Mutua A grassroots lobby group has condemned what it describes as a violent attack on its national convenor, even as it escalated pressure on senior government officials over an ongoing fuel scandal. Mtetezi, the Grassroots Economic Justice Movement, said its National Convenor, Francis Awino, was assaulted by a group of goons who disrupted a press briefing, attacked journalists, and left him injured and hospitalized. The group linked the incident to its calls for the resignation of Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui over alleged links to the controversial substandard fuel waiver process. According to the movement, Awino has since been discharged from hospital. In a press statement issued Friday, Mtetezi announced that it has filed a public interest petition in court seeking the immediate removal of the two Cabinet Secretaries. The group argues that their offices are linked to a chain of approvals that enabled the impor...