Gachagua allies summoned in tear gas incident probe
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua remains seated after chaos erupted at a public function in Nyandarua County on December 28, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Nyandarua Senator John Methu says the former DP’s team will sue the police to compel them to arraign the suspect.
- Initial reports indicate that the suspect is a police officer attached to Mayland Police Post under Muungano Police Station.
Police have summoned some of former Deputy President Rigathi’s allies following the Saturday tear gas attack at Shamata Stadium.
County Police Commander Jane Nyakeruma says investigators are still looking into the matter, but the former DP’s allies suspect foul play, complaining that they should have arraigned the suspect in court on Monday or Tuesday.
Nyandarua Senator John Methu says the former DP’s team will sue the police to compel them to arraign the suspect, who has since been released from police custody.
Initial reports indicate that the suspect is a police officer attached to Mayland Police Post under Muungano Police Station in Athi River.
In a video clip, the suspect claims that he was in Shamata to visit his mother.
“I have bought a farm and constructed a house for my mother at Shamata,” says the suspect.
The suspect was also heard promising to buy a senior police officer some drinks for saving his life.
“Huyo inspector ni wa maana, nilikua nimekanyagwa sina hewa. Aliniokoa kwa raia. Lakini si raia wote, una cheki kijamaa, ni ki blogger cha nani, cha Gachagua, kilini spot, shida ni kiliniona mapema, na sa shida ingine si mimi nilirusha tear gas. (He is a very nice inspector. The attackers were on me; I was no longer breathing. He saved my life. But it was not the entire public attacking me. You see, it was one of Gachagua’s bloggers that spotted me. The problem is that he spotted and identified me well in advance. The other problem is that it’s not me who threw the tear gas),” says the suspect.
A Nation spot check at Nyandarua and Nyahururu law courts indicated that the courts had not set a hearing or plea for cases arising from the incident.
Although the suspect sustained serious injuries during the attack, he was not taken to hospital.
It remained unclear where police took the suspect after the incident, after escorting him from Shamata Police Station in two vehicles. Police escorted him out of the station under heavy gunfire as the public bayed for his blood.
The police declined to state the whereabouts of the suspect, maintaining that the matter was still under active investigation. Soon after the incident, Mr Gachagua claimed that the attacker was a bodyguard attached to Nyandarua Woman Representative Ms Faith Gitau.
Ms Gitau has consistently used female bodyguards since her first election in 2017.
In the video clip, the suspect blames one of Mr Gachagua’s bloggers as having pointed at him as the person behind the attack, but denies throwing the tear gas.
A few hours after the incident, Senator Methu released the suspect’s details, including his service number and mobile phone number, on his social media forums; detectives investigating the matter took the phone for analysis.
