The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has summoned former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to answer questions over a series of public utterances that it says may amount to hate speech, ethnic incitement and threats to national unity.
In a formal summons dated August 18, 2026, and signed by Dr Daniel Giti, Mr Gachagua has been ordered to appear before the commission on August 27, 2026, at 2pm, failure to which he will be arrested.
Other leaders summoned by the NCIC over suspected hate speech are Busia Governor Paul Otuoma and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma.
The commission said it is acting under Sections 27, 29 and 63C, as read with Section 63E, of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, which gives it the mandate to investigate conduct that undermines peaceful coexistence among communities.
According to the summons, the NCIC is focusing on speeches that Mr Gachagua, who is also the leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), allegedly made at various political stops dating back to July 2026.
He has been put on notice over remarks he allegedly made in Vihiga, Kisii and Meru counties.
Attached to the summons are transcripts of the remarks, which the former deputy president is required to explain in terms of their intent, context and potential impact.
In Luanda, Vihiga County, on June 12, 2026, while addressing roadside audiences, he is quoted as having told some communities to go to their in-laws' in Sudan.
"Kasongo was shouting that Riggy G said in-laws should live together. You ‘Kasongo, leave our family alone, go and look for your in-laws over there in Sudan. You left your in-laws, let them go to Sudan or not?” Mr Gachagua is reported by the NCIC to have said.
Two months earlier, at Gusii Stadium in Kisii County on February 23, 2026, Mr Gachagua addressed a crowd and is reported to have singled out Nyaribari Chache MP Zagheer Jhanda in remarks the NCIC considers discriminatory.
Gachagua is accused of uttering words that are perceived to demean and dehumanise some tribes and communities.
The summons have immediately elicited an outcry among Mr Gachagua's loyalists, with Nyandarua Senator John Methu describing them as “discriminatory” and an attempt to help the Executive crackdown on dissent while allowing the government to manage politics.
So far, Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara and his Mukurwe-ini counterpart John Kaguchia have been charged in court over suspected hate speech. Both are loyalists of Mr Gachagua.
During the Ol Kalou by-election, Gachagua's ally, Kipipiri lawmaker Wanjiku Muhia and Nakuru Town East's David Gikaria, a government loyalist, were fined Sh1.5 million and Sh2.5 million respectively by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for contravening the electoral code of conduct.
Mr Methu accused President William Ruto and his supporters of also making inflammatory statements, arguing that the NCIC was selectively enforcing its mandate.
“President Ruto leads in issuing inflammatory statements, as well as many of his loyalists, but when it comes to issuing summons, the NCIC cherry-picks targets in a clear show of playing government politics,” he said.
Mr Methu said President Ruto had presided over public meetings where his loyalists had prominently propagated the narrative of isolating Mt Kenya leaders and voters by portraying them as the common enemy.
“Yet, the NCIC won’t see or hear that… We do not have laws that rule the government and others that apply to the opposition. The law must apply in uniformity of intent. We do not want to reach a point where we are called upon to treat NCIC as another political party in the competition,” he said.
The bulk of the NCIC investigation against Mr Gachagua relates to his tour of Meru County between July 25 and 28, 2026, where he is said to have repeatedly used the phrase “killing the snake and its eggs”.
He is also accused of warning President Ruto never to set foot in Meru County because of what he described as the targeting of senior people from the region who had served in government.
“We elected this President… we loved him. He came with a Bible and we thought he was a good Christian. Did he lie to us? Did he not lie to us? We elected him and when he got there he used that seat to finish the people of Mt Kenya. He started with Gachagua, he fired him. He then went and fired Mithika Linturi. Now he has planned to fire the Chief Justice Martha Koome... I am telling you President, if you fire Martha Koome don’t step your foot here in Meru,” the NCIC says.
Mr Gachagua is also said to have warned that the Mt Kenya community would not tolerate further betrayals.
“You have used us badly like tissue paper. We elected you and you have turned against us as a community... This community called the Mt Kenya region will deal with traitors for the next 50 years. No one will betray this community for 50 years. We are going to send a very strong signal to all betrayers of our community... Together with William Ruto we will chase all of you together, one way, go home,” the NCIC further quotes Mr Gachagua as saying.
In the same speech, the NCIC says Mr Gachagua called on Meru residents to defend Ms Koome and mobilise against their MPs and senator, whom he allegedly accused of remaining silent over the perceived betrayal of community interests.
The NCIC issued a penal notice in the summons, warning that failure to appear would lead to "arrest and production before the Commission and/or the institution of criminal and/or contempt proceedings against you”.
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina said the NCIC should exercise its independence and apply its mandate in a manner that does not appear to encourage political loyalties to rise up in arms.
“In Emurua Dikkir, we have seen and heard area MP David Kipsang’ issue direct threats to security by warning Mr Gachagua never to set his feet there. Others, who include serving police officers addressing open-air public meetings, have warned that a Gachagua visit to the area will be met with violence,” she said.
She added that “government Cabinet Secretaries like Geoffrey Ruku (Public Service) and Adan Duale (Health) have been notorious for issuing inflammatory statements, but after government loyalists have been heard ordering NCIC to summon opposition leaders, it rushes to make them happy”.
Ms Maina said the NCIC and other law enforcement agencies should prove their independence by applying the rule of law equally to members of the Broad-Based Government and the opposition.
“We cannot have people in government partnership enjoying impunity for lawlessness and public institutions being used as weapons to help government survive dissent. That is a situation that will not be taken kindly,” she said.
