A planned political rally by allies of Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua was violently disrupted for the second week in a row, as police lobbed teargas and blocked a procession in Murang’a County on Sunday.
Chaos erupted moments after a church service at AIPCA Christ the King Church in Kahuro, Kigumo Constituency, where DCP-aligned legislators had convened ahead of a scheduled meet-the-people tour.
Among those present were Nyandarua Senator John Methu and Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu.
Also Read
According to eyewitnesses and video footage from the scene, police mounted a heavy blockade at Ngonga Shopping Centre, intercepting the convoy.
A brief standoff quickly escalated into a clash, with officers reportedly firing live rounds into the air and deploying teargas to disperse the crowd. Several vehicles were damaged during the confrontation.
This marks the second consecutive Sunday that police have broken up rallies linked to Gachagua’s faction. A similar incident occurred in Subukia, Nakuru County the previous weekend, and in May, a parallel disruption was reported in Kakamega.
The mounting police crackdowns have drawn condemnation from civil society groups and opposition figures, who view the actions as part of an increasingly repressive stance by the state against dissenting political voices.
Speaking from Baltimore, Maryland—where he is on a political outreach tour—Rigathi Gachagua denounced the Murang’a incident as “barbaric, dictatorial violence against the soul of the nation.”
“It is a blatant assault on the preamble of our Constitution—one that President Ruto himself never supported during its passage in 2010,” Gachagua stated in a strongly worded post on his official Facebook page.
The former Deputy President accused the police of executing politically motivated instructions to undermine his movement’s growing momentum at the grassroots. He warned that Kenya was veering dangerously toward authoritarian rule.
Gachagua also criticized Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga, claiming that Odinga’s recent political cooperation with President Ruto was a trap. He alleged that the government had no real intention of implementing the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), the centerpiece of the Raila-Ruto accord.
“Raila Odinga, William Ruto told me that NADCO will go nowhere. He’s only buying time. He’s instructed Ichung’wah and company to stall it until the next election,” Gachagua told a cheering crowd of diaspora supporters in Baltimore.
He further alleged that Ruto was orchestrating turmoil within ODM while riding on the recent wave of Gen Z-led protests to dilute Odinga’s influence.
“By the time Ruto is done with you, you’ll be a footnote in Kenyan politics,” Gachagua warned.
The incident has reignited debate about political freedom in Kenya and raised questions about the state’s commitment to democratic principles in the run-up to 2027.
Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the National Police Service had issued an official statement by press time.