Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua faced a moment of tension on Sunday, March 23, after being briefly prevented from leaving the ACK Cathedral in Nyeri town.
Videos obtained by Newshub.co.ke show a crowd gathering outside the church, engaging in a heated confrontation with some residents. The situation quickly escalated, forcing police officers to intervene and restore order.
Earlier in the day, former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu had taken to social media, alleging that a group of individuals had been mobilized outside the church to confront Gachagua.
“So, there are goons outside our church, brought in from Mathira, intending to cause chaos when H.E. Rigathi leaves the consecration of Bishop Mureithi at ACK Cathedral, Nyeri Town,” part of his post read.
“This is yet another one of those strange tactics to undermine RiggyG, but ironically, such actions only make him more popular.”
Reports circulating online suggested that the group had assembled even before Gachagua left the church. Upon his exit, they allegedly clashed with some of the locals who had attended the event.
Several people were reportedly injured in the scuffle, although the exact number remains unconfirmed.
Adding to the controversy, another unusual incident was reported at the same event. Claims surfaced on social media alleging that Kenya Power had deliberately cut off electricity to disrupt the occasion.
However, Kenya Power swiftly dismissed these allegations, clarifying that Nyeri town had been scheduled for a planned power maintenance. The company explained that a notice had been issued a day earlier to inform residents of the outage.
“Good afternoon, sir. Kindly note that various parts of Nyeri County and its surroundings were scheduled for maintenance today, March 23, as announced on our platforms. This is part of our efforts to ensure continuous and reliable power supply,” Kenya Power stated in response to an online critic.
Meanwhile, Gachagua was attending the church event amid new guidelines enforced by the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), which banned politicking within its premises starting Sunday, March 16.
A week before the incident, ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit had declared that, moving forward, political leaders attending church services would only be introduced and allowed to wave at the congregation, without making speeches in all ACK churches across the country.
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