'Men in Black' Re-Emerge, Cause Violence at ODM Appeals Tribunal and Suspension of Activity

The infamous ‘Men in Black’ have re-appeared at another ODM event, this time disrupting an ODM Appeals Tribunal session on Monday at Marsh Hotel in Nairobi.

The group, composed of men dressed in black, stormed a room in which the ODM tribunal was hearing complains by political aspirants in the ongoing nominations.

The men entered the room as Ochieng Daima and Vincent Kodera, two ODM aspirants from Nyakach constituency, were presenting their case before the tribunal challenging the nomination of Aduma Our for the MP seat. The group is said to have attacked the two aspirants and their lawyer, Martin Onyango.

Following the attack, the tribunal, which has hundreds of cases filed before it by various aspirants nationwide, suspended its sittings until further notice. "We fear for our lives. We are doing our best to resolve the problems that have arisen from the nominations. But we were attacked and had to be evacuated to safety," said Willis Otieno, the tribunal’s chairman.

A similar group of men dressed in black stormed Kasarani Stadium in 2014 as ODM was conducting party elections, smashed ballot boxes, and destroyed voting papers. Those party elections had to be postponed to a later date.