Gachagua Evades Security Agents Over Impending Arrest
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. (Photo/ Courtesy)
By Eddeus Atandi
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua evaded a security dragnet in Murang’a County by changing his route back to his Wamunyoro home in Nyeri County.
Security sources privy to the operation confirmed that despite the late-night efforts to apprehend him, the impeached DP outsmarted them.
Credible sources within the administration indicate that plans were in motion to detain and interrogate the DP in relation to his statements perceived as inflammatory and inciteful.
The utterances, made during recent public engagements, have angered a section of senior government officials with a promise to take stern action against political actors stoking ethnic or political tensions.
On Sunday evening, heavily armed security officers and masked law enforcers were deployed near Jogoo Kimakia, adjacent Blue Post in Thika with the intention of pouncing on Gachagua.
Unfortunately, unknown to them the DP had received intelligence report that forced him to change course, and evaded their dragnet through using alternative route to his Nyeri home.
Although it cannot be verified whether the security operation was as a result of DP Prof Kithure Kindiki and internal security Kipchumba Murkomen’s threats of arrest, it seems the Gachagua got wind of the pending arrest and avoided it.
His legal counsel, Ndegwa Njiru, released a public statement asserting that the officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had surrounded both his Karen and Wamunyoro homes with an intend to lay a siege not only to his person, but also his property.
“To all media outlets, be informed that the DCI has taken siege of all residences of H.E. Rigathi Gachagua in Karen and Wamunyoro. They are currently conducting a manhunt for him. We are yet to be appraised of the legal basis for this operation,” he stated on Sunday night.
The unfolding situation has provoked sharp criticisms from the opposition with Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka decrying the state-sponsored terror and intimidation.
“This persecution of opposition leaders must cease. If the government intends to arrest Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, it must do so within the confines of due process. We are prepared to present him to the DCI. Resorting to abductions is both primitive and cowardly,” he declared.
As of Monday morning, May 19, 2025, the fugitive, Mr Gachagua, had not issued any public statement over the issue until later when he addressed the press at his Wamunyoro home.
Other reports indicate Gachagua’s security personnel are persons of interest for questioning in connection with a recent altercation that occurred during the launch of his Democratic Change Party (DCP).
While addressing a gathering in Murang’a on Sunday, the DP dismissed accusations of incitement regarding the 2027 elections saying it was the ruling regime’s political machinations aimed at silencing dissenting voices critical of the administration.
Interior cabinet secretary Kipchumba Murkomen had earlier on Sunday issued a warning to political figures allegedly fomenting unrest vowing punitive measures for those deemed to be endangering national stability.
“We will incarcerate you, and there shall be no recourse,” he said.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service in Nandi County in honour of retired AIC Bishop Patrice Chumba, the CS condemned what he described as a parochial and ethnically divisive political agenda, asserting that such rhetoric undermines the nation’s cohesion.
“You must embrace peace. This nation demands stability, and we shall not allow any individual to plunge it into anarchy,” he warned.
