UDA MP Kagombe threatens defection to 'Wamunyoro' over Kaguchia arrest

Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe has warned that a section of lawmakers could defect to the opposition if Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia is not released, casting the arrest as a botched operation that risks embarrassing President William Ruto’s government.

“Ruto, if you don’t release Kaguchia immediately, we will defect to Wamunyoro,” Kagombe said, invoking the political base of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Speaking outside Kamukunji Police Station, where the legislator was being held, Kagombe defended Kaguchia as a duly elected representative entitled to the same treatment as any other member of parliament. “He is a representative of the people of Mukurwe-ini.

He is elected. He is a member of parliament like any other member of parliament,” he said.

Kagombe, who is allied to the ruling United Democratic Alliance, accused unnamed officials within government of mishandling the matter in a way that damaged the administration’s standing. He said some individuals were “acting in a way that is even capable of misrepresenting the ideas of President William and making us look bad and make the government look in bad light.”

He questioned why detectives had moved to arrest Kaguchia and rush him to court, only to abandon the plan when the court directed that he be released and produced the following day.

He argued the process breached the procedures set out under the National Cohesion and Integration Commission framework, saying a known and locatable MP should have been summoned rather than seized.

“Honourable Kaguchia is a man who is known and has an address. You can even ask the Speaker of Parliament to avail him,” he said, adding that the proper course was to summon the legislator, inform him of the suspected offence and ask him to record a statement.

Kagombe, who said he was at Royal Media Services during the standoff, described a tense scene in which he was unable to leave the studio. He said hooded men were positioned outside the premises and that it was unclear who was being targeted. He called on the government to conduct itself better and insisted that Kaguchia had a right to due process.

Kaguchia, whose full name is John Philip Gichohi Kaguchia, was arrested by DCI officers on Monday, August 3, after spending the night at the Royal Media Services offices in Nairobi, where he had taken refuge from Sunday evening.

He said police had surrounded the studios and erected roadblocks in what he described as an attempt to intimidate him. Detectives are investigating remarks he made at a political rally in Kieni, Nyeri County, over the weekend, which authorities are examining as inflammatory.

The Kiambu High Court later ordered his release on a cash bail of KSh100,000, with Lady Justice Njoki Mwangi directing that he be freed forthwith pending the hearing of his application, now set for September 16, 2026.

Kaguchia’s arrest has drawn sharp criticism from opposition-aligned leaders and triggered protests in Mukurwe-ini, with residents demanding his release.