A planned political rally by allies of Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua was disrupted for the second consecutive week, after police lobbed teargas and blocked their procession in Murang’a County on Sunday.
According to eyewitness accounts and footage from the scene, the chaos erupted shortly after a church service at AIPCA Christ the King Church in Kahuro, Kigumo Constituency, where a group of legislators allied to Gachagua had gathered ahead of a scheduled meet-the-people tour.
Among them were Senators John Methu (Nyandarua) and Joe Nyutu (Murang’a).
The convoy encountered a heavy police blockade at Ngonga Shopping Centre. A brief standoff ensued, culminating in the use of teargas and live rounds fired into the air to disperse the crowd. Several vehicles were reportedly damaged during the melee.
This is the second time in as many Sundays that police have thwarted attempts by DCP-affiliated leaders to hold public rallies. A similar incident occurred in Subukia, Nakuru County last week, and echoes of the same were reported in Kakamega in May. Critics say it reflects an increasingly repressive approach by the state toward opposition-aligned political activity.
Speaking from Baltimore, Maryland, where he is currently on a political tour of the United States, Gachagua condemned the incident in strong terms.
“This is barbaric, dictatorial violence against the soul of the nation,” Gachagua wrote on his official Facebook page. “It is a blatant assault on the preamble of our Constitution—one that President Ruto himself never supported during its passage in 2010.”
The former Deputy President accused security agencies of acting on political instructions to frustrate his movement’s grassroots engagements, warning that Kenya was slipping into authoritarianism.
Gachagua also took aim at Azimio leader Raila Odinga, claiming his recent political cooperation with President Ruto was a trap. He alleged that the Kenya Kwanza administration had no intention of implementing the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), a key element of the Raila-Ruto accord.
“Raila Odinga, William Ruto told me that NADCO will go nowhere. He’s only buying time. He’s instructed Ichung’wah and company to stall it until the next election,” Gachagua declared in a speech to diaspora supporters.
He went further, accusing President Ruto of engineering internal turmoil within the ODM Party and capitalizing on Gen Z discontent to weaken Odinga’s political capital.
“By the time Ruto is done with you, you’ll be a footnote in Kenyan politics,” he warned.
