Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has come to the defence of Mumias East MP Peter Salasya over his call for reforms in the sugar sector and the revival of Mumias Sugar company which saw him attacked on Sunday.
A man believed to be a supporter of Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa confronted the first-time legislator on the podium and snatched the microphone leading to a scuffle during a church fundraiser in Mumias West.
Speaking on Monday, Khalwale said Salasya and any other political leader in Western Kenya has a right to speak about the sugar issue without being interrupted or stopped from doing so.
"Barasa, because you hold the highest office in this county, you can't decide who speaks what they should speak about. Speak about what is commensurate with your high office and let holders of lower offices also say what is at their level," Khalwale said.
"If he says what is false, wait for him to finish then rectify him with the truth. Hon Peter Salasya has the freedom to speak in Mumias and what Salasya was saying is true. We want Mumias Sugar Company to prosper as has happened to Butali and West Kenya," the senator said.
He was speaking during a tree planting exercise at Shamberere National Polytechnic in Malava Constituency in Kakamega county.
Khalwale condemned politics of hooliganism saying it often leads to deaths citing the Salasya case where guns were drawn.
The senator further urged police officers not to get involved in such scenarios saying politicians should be left to square it out on the podium without the law enforcers siding with either side.
"Let men face each other, if you see them getting physical, disappear. Let them fight."
During the church Harambee at Bukaya Catholic Church, tensions ran high after Salasya broached over the Mumias issue and alleged that Governor Barasa was impending on the reforms.
The remarks seemingly irked a supporter of the governor who sprang from the crowd, hopped on the podium and wrestled the microphone from the MP.
Salasya hit back and at a moment's notice, a crowd surged on the podium and things quickly escalated into a fistfight between supporters of the governor and the MP.
Police swung into action and calmed tensions amid shouting, pushing and shoving before normalcy was finally restored and the function allowed to proceed.