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United Opposition returns to Othaya after Gachagua church attack
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka (centre) and other leaders of the United Opposition (from left) Rigathi Gachagua, Justin Muturi and Martha Karua address the media outside Vigilance House in Nairobi on January 30, 2026.
What you need to know:
- The Othaya rally is designed not only as a mobilisation forum but as a direct response to last Sunday’s violence.
- During last Sunday’s chaos at ACK Witima Church, worshippers were attacked by armed people who also fired at vehicles.
The United Opposition will on Sunday return to Othaya in Nyeri County for a church service and a series of grassroots engagements exactly one week after the violent church attack on former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
The attack saw Mr Gachagua flee amid gunfire, and the coalition says the visit to the same town is a deliberate show of defiance against political intimidation. The United Opposition is also seeking to reclaim public space it believes is increasingly under siege.
The visit comes a day after opposition leaders met Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja seeking security assurances ahead of the tour.
During last Sunday’s chaos at ACK Witima Church, worshippers were attacked by armed people who also fired at vehicles. The Opposition termed the incident as a targeted assault on its leadership and supporters.
“We will return to Othaya and meet the people there. We have already told them that we will be there and they need to provide security,” Mr Gachagua said on Friday while addressing his supporters at Wakulima Market, signaling that the coalition would not retreat from areas where violence has erupted.
Residents scamper for safety after tear gas canisters were lobbed at Witima ACK Church in Nyeri County during a Sunday service that was attended by Rigathi Gachagua on January 25, 2026.
The tour will bring together a high-profile opposition figures including People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Democratic Action Party of Kenya’s Eugene Wamalwa, Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Fred Matiang’i Democratic Party’s Justin Muturi and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, underscoring a coordinated political push to confront insecurity head-on while mobilising grassroots support.
According to an itinerary shared by Mr Musyoka’s Wiper Patriotic Front, the day will begin with a church service at ACK Gitugi in Mathioya Constituency, Murang’a County, where the opposition principals will join worshippers in what organisers say is meant to reaffirm faith, community solidarity and the right to worship freely without fear.
The leaders are then expected to hold a meet-the-people engagement in Gitugi Town at 1pm, where they will interact with residents on local concerns, governance issues and the opposition’s political agenda, before proceeding to Othaya Town at 3pm for what is expected to be a politically charged stop.
The Othaya rally is designed not only as a mobilisation forum but as a direct response to last Sunday’s violence, with opposition leaders seek to reaffirm their message that political intimidation will not silence or restrict constitutional freedoms.
The Othaya tour is expected to set the stage for what could become a defining moment in the opposition’s campaign to challenge both insecurity and what it claims is state-sponsored intimidation.
