Mumias East MP Peter Salasya was arrested and bundled into police custody after a scuffle with Malaha MCA Peter Walunya at a funeral in Kakamega County. Salasya is facing charges of assault causing bodily harm and breaching the penal code.
Salasya’s security team was also disarmed pending ballistic analysis.
The Mumias East MP was however later on released on Ksh50,000 bail. He is due to appear in Mumias court on Tuesday.
The incident stemmed from a protocol disagreement during the funeral.
In a viral video circulating on social media, Salasya is seen extending condolences to the bereaved family. However, tensions escalated when he spotted MCA Walunya standing a few feet.
Salasya demanded that the MCA takes his seat, to which the MCA refused. After several demands from the legislator, Salasya is seen taking on Walunya and slapping him.
The situation escalated into chaos, with gunshots fired by Salasya’s security detail. The MCA was then escorted from the event.
Warrant of arrest issued for Salasya in 2023
This is not the first time the Mumias East MP has had a brush with law enforcement.
In November 2023, the youthful MP went on the run after a warrant of arrest was issued after he threatened Kakamega magistrate Gladys Kiama. The incident transpired outside the court premises after the magistrate ordered the MP to pay Sh500,000 in a small claims case.
The MP had on social media implied that the Magistrate ruled against him because he had declined her sexual advances.
Magistrate Kiama reported the threatening encounter to the Kakamega police station. In her police report, she detailed that the MP had explicitly threatened her life before fleeing the scene.
The court determined that the MP had borrowed Ksh 500,000 from Kakamega-based businessman Robert Lutta in December 2022.
Lutta had extended the loan to Salasya shortly after the MP’s victory in the Mumias East parliamentary seat during the August 2022 election. Despite frequent reminders, Salasya failed to repay the loan within the stipulated two-month timeframe.
Taking legal action, Lutta, through lawyer Edwin Wafula, filed a lawsuit against the MP on October 23, 2023.
Supporting his case with bank transfer details, Lutta expressed readiness to utilize the Civil Procedure Act to pursue civil jail penalties if the MP continued to default on the debt.
The court, in its judgment, mandated Salasya to settle the Sh500,000 debt along with accrued interest and cover the costs of the legal proceedings.
