Gachagua, who had gone to Kanja’s office to follow up with the police on the issue, alleged that the Inspector General went into hiding to avoid meeting with him and his fellow United Opposition leaders.
“Tumefika pale akatorokea mlango ya nyuma. Anaogopa kukutana na sisi,” said Gachagua on Monday. (We got there and he left through the back door, afraid of meeting with us.)
The opposition team then held an impromptu political rally in Nyamakima, downtown Nairobi, where he told the police chief that he would be back on Friday, February 20, for another meeting.
However, Mr Gachagua, the leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), promised to marshal 100,000 Kenyans on Friday to march to IG Kanja’s office, saying he would bring the nation’s capital to a standstill.
“Tumemwambia siku ya ijumaa, saa tatu, tutakuja kwako na watu elfu mia moja kutoka jijini Nairobi,” said Gachagua.
Mr Gachagua is seeking justice over a January 25, 2026, incident at the ACK Witima Church, where police lobbed tear gas canisters into the church compound and inside the building during the service, which he was in attendance.
He labelled the attack as an assassination attempt on his life, sanctioned by President William Ruto and demanded that IG Kanja arrest the officers involved in the attack.
“This was an assassination attack targeted towards Rigathi Gachagua… a special squad of police officers called Nairobi Sierra of 12 officers, was dispatched to eliminate us in church,” Mr Gachagua said after the incident, giving the IG until February 15 to meet his demands.
On February 16, as promised, Rigathi and the United Opposition team marched to Harambee House to meet with the IG, who was nowhere to be found.
“Despite scheduling an appointment with leaders of the United Opposition to review and track progress on critical issues such as police brutality, church attacks, and violence against women and children, he chose instead the convenience of a hide-and-seek game, subjecting us to interactions with junior police officers,” an angry Gachagua said.
“His continued refusal to act on the violent attack at ACK Witima Church, coupled with the escalating attacks across our nation, confirms a deliberate strategy to shield perpetrators and normalise impunity.”
