Tear gas, goons, live bullets as Gachagua rally in Ichung’wah turf scuttled

The police action triggered panic, with supporters fleeing in different directions as clouds of tear gas engulfed sections of the town. Businesses hurriedly shut down as running battles between police and sections of the crowd broke out.

Mr Gachagua’s convoy, however, broke away and addressed supporters along the highway, where he condemned Kikuyu Town MP and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah for what he termed as orchestrating the disruption.

“He organized the police officers to come out and prevent us from holding our meeting. He should be sent home. I have started a campaign of dealing with leaders who have rebelled against our community and we are going to do away with them,” Mr Gachagua said.

Shortly before finishing his address, police officers moved in again, firing tear gas and forcing the leaders to disperse.

A defiant Gachagua later resurfaced along the Southern Bypass where he addressed supporters while donning a bulletproof vest and a helmet.

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“We were on the way coming here with Kalonzo and Matiang’i but the police threw tear gas canisters at us. They shot at us. But I said I must come because I am a child of Mau Mau,” he said, before his convoy was once again disrupted.

Police officers in plain clothes, later trailed the convoy, firing several shots that were also directed at media vehicles and sections of the convoy, escalating tensions further.

A tear gas canister landed on NTV reporter David Muthoka’s lap almost injuring him. They also pointed a gun at the driver Julius Makau and the videographer Salim Shiundu threatening to shoot him if they dared follow them along the highway and record them. Nation photographer Francis Nderitu was also suffocated by tear gas canisters directed at him.

For the better part of the day, major roads around Kikuyu and the Southern Bypass remained inaccessible, with police barricades and dispersed crowds paralysing movement.

At the same time, groups of goons took advantage of the chaos to seize control of sections of the Southern Bypass, where they blocked roads using stones and other debris, bringing traffic to a near standstill.

In what appeared to be an organized operation, the goons extorted motorists, demanding money in exchange for passage. Those who resisted were threatened, with some vehicles vandalized.

Thugs were captured on video demanding money from motorists along the Southern Bypass on Saturday morning and afternoon, stopping vehicles and forcing drivers to pay before being allowed to proceed.

By evening, the opposition leaders had failed to access Kikuyu town or hold their planned rally, as the day ended in scenes of disorder marked by tear gas, gunfire and widespread lawlessness on key roads.

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The events followed days of growing tensions between Mr Gachagua and Mr Ichung’wah, marked by sharp counter-accusations over alleged plans to sponsor violence ahead of the rally.

Mr Gachaguaa, a day before the rally, had written to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, alleging a coordinated plot to disrupt the Kikuyu meeting. In the letter, he claimed the area MP had made both direct and veiled threats in remarks delivered on March 26 and April 9, and faulted police for what he described as inaction despite the warnings.

“We have noted that despite the threats and admission that he is privy to crimes that may be committed, the MP has not been summoned and no action has been taken,” Mr Gachagua said.

He further alleged that hired groups, working in tandem with elements within the police, had been mobilised to cause chaos during the rally.

“The goons are to create mayhem, vandalize people's businesses, attack targeted establishments to trigger police intervention who will be using tear gas and ammunition,” he claimed.

Mr Gachagua also warned of a plan to block key access roads into Kikuyu town using stalled heavy vehicles to limit the movement of supporters, insisting his party’s meetings had remained peaceful and urging police to provide protection.

“We ask the Inspector General to ensure police are not used to harm the very people you are supposed to protect, and to deal with the goons planning violence,” he said, adding that any unrest would rest squarely on the police leadership and local officials.

But in a swift rebuttal after the chaos, Mr Ichung’wah on Saturday also dismissed the claims and instead accused Mr Gachagua of orchestrating instability in the constituency.

He blamed the violence on what he described as a coordinated political operation orchestrated by Mr Gachagua, alleging that the disruption was deliberate rather than spontaneous.

“The violence witnessed in our constituency today is organized and deliberate. It is not random chaos,” he said, adding that it bore “the hallmarks of the same kind of coordinated political attacks” seen during previous unrest.

Mr Ichung’wah accused the former Deputy President of mobilising criminal gangs and outsiders, linking them to incidents of robbery and extortion along the Southern Bypass, and questioned why violence appeared to follow his political activities.

He called on the government to take action, urging the Inspector General of Police to launch investigations into those involved, while insisting that no leader was above the law.

“To my constituents: Do not be intimidated. Do not be silenced. Stand firm, but remain peaceful and law-abiding,” he said, maintaining that Kikuyu would not be “reduced to a playground for political violence.”

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