Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Inset: Gachagua's damaged personal car and (right) the scene of the burial ceremony in Limuru that was was rocked with chaos.
Details have emerged on how the police ignored warning signs of political chaos at the funeral where former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was forced to flee for dear life on Thursday.
Insiders have disclosed that the plan to attack Mr Gachagua could have been set in motion a day before the burial.
Sources indicate that a group of youth was initially organised to stage the attack on Wednesday after word went around that Mr Gachagua was to visit the family to give his contribution and to attend an evening prayer session.
Mr Gachagua, through one of his close allies, had sent his personal contribution of Sh50,000 to the family after the burial organising committee reached out to him.
Mr Gachagua also communicated his intention to attend the burial. This is according to Joseph Karanja Muchai alias Shujaa who was part of the organising committee.
A senior police source revealed in confidence that they had all the intelligence that there was a likelihood that chaos would occur given past experiences after Mr Gachagua was impeached.
He, however, claimed that people close to the Executive used their influence to warn senior police officers against providing Mr Gachagua’s event with security.
The goons were reportedly ferried to the Bibirio-ini location, the venue of the burial from Kabete, Kikuyu, Limuru and Kiambaa.
They started arriving at 8am even before the procession from the mortuary arrived. Witness accounts narrated how the young men, whom the villagers could tell were not from the area, went on a smoking spree after they arrived and positioned themselves strategically facing, and close, to the VIP dais.
They would then hurl stones at the main dais before bringing the tents down and using chairs, sticks and all manner of other weapons, attack the motorcade of Mr Gachagua and his close political allies.
The destruction caused by unknown persons during a funeral attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
“I would be lying to you if I told you that we had no intelligence that chaos would erupt during the burial. The information and leads were all over and some local administrators who are in the WhatsApp groups like that of Uteti wa Limuru(Limuru Politics) even reached out to us," a senior police officer told the Nation in confidence, fearing victimisation and immediate transfer.
"What would you do when people close to power call you and other senior police officers and tell you not to assign security to so and so, he is no longer a government official. What do you do?
"You know senior police appointments are political and you know police officers complain in silence. Yes, we know what is wrong and what is right but sadly sometimes we get drawn into fights that are not ours and at a personal level, you feel you are letting people down and used badly because with all this, they suffer directly.’
DCI denial
Officially, the top brass of the service rejects this position.
Mr Mohammed Amin, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, on Friday, blamed a lack of prior ground intelligence on the attack on Mr Gachagua.
“Thursday’s Limuru incident is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken both against the perpetrators and inciters. . . We had no intelligence on any planned attack,” Mr Amin told the Nation.
In further drama, former Limuru MP Peter Mwathi and Bibirioni Ward MCA Christopher Ireri claimed that they had been abducted at the scene, bundled into Subaru cars driven around, and later dumped near Ruiru town.
Mr Amin advised all interested parties to stop making allegations that are not being reported officially at police stations.
“If you claim you were abducted, kindly report the matter to a police station so that we can assign investigators. If you saw attackers or you have any other crucial tip to help us nab the criminals, let us have it in confidence. We remain an impartial institution committed to the rule of law,” said Mr Amin.
Mr Gachagua was attending the burial of Erastus Nduati, 23, alias Mwene Limuru (owner of Limuru).
Mr Nduati died after his brother woke up one morning and after a short altercation early last week, slashed him to death with a machete.
In death, Mr Nduati was hurriedly buried as mourners scampered for safety and the family had to plead with them to come back after the fracas to help in lowering down the coffin.
Further, the family has to pay back over Sh100,000 to the supplier who had rented to them plastic chairs and tents, most of which were damaged.
The family on Friday said they were not ready to speak about the incident that had left them shocked.
They said discussing the matter may put them either on a collision path with local authorities and the warring political factions.
Mr Nduati’s burial attracted a huge number of mourners and politicians because of his huge following, thanks to his regular contributions via phone calls and text messages on vernacular radio stations where he contributed on different social, political and economic matters.
The chaos happened when former Limuru legislator Peter Mwathi was delivering his speech.
https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/kiambu/rigathi-gachagua-speaks-after-limuru-chaos-hired-goons-were-sent-after-me--4839372#storyHis fallout with his successor Peter John Kiragu was evident as Mr Kiragu sat in the public area, avoiding the VIP section that hosted Mr Gachagua and Kiambu senator Karungo Wa Thang’wa, among other dignitaries.
At the same time, there were reports that Mr Mwathi had been abducted by people claiming to be police officers.
Mr Mwathi's known mobile phone was off on Friday when the Nation reached out to him for a comment.
The National Police Service has since refuted claims that Mr Mwathi had been arrested by police.
“We wish to clarify that the National Police Service did not arrest Peter Mwathi, and he is not a person of interest to the police. DCI Limuru has commenced investigations into the matter to establish the cause of the fracas and bring to book, the perpetrators,” the National Police Service said through its spokesperson Resila Onyango.
Even as this happened, questions abound on a letter to Kiambu Senator Karungo Wa Thang’wa, requiring him to appear before the Regional Criminal Investigations Officer in Nyeri for questioning and to record statement yet the jurisdiction of where the fracas happened in Kiambu.
The letter was reportedly authored by Joseph Chirchir, an officer attached to DCI Limuru.
However, in a letter the same day, the senator through his lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, dismissed the summons, stating that he had no information to assist in the investigations.
In a letter addressed to the Regional CCIO in Nyeri, the lawyer questioned the basis of the summons, arguing that it was not rooted in evidence.
“Regrettably, our client is devoid of any facilitative information that would aid your investigations. We are, however, obligated to remind you of the importance of Article 50 (2) of the Constitution of Kenya, upon which our client cleaves and clings. We are, however, willing to comply with whatever outcome that your endeavour will lead to,” read part of the letter.
Thursday’s chaos comes a few weeks after the November 10 incident where detectives reportedly tried to stop a Nairobi-based church from hosting Mr Gachagua.
Bishop JJ Gitahi, the founder of Priesthood Fellowship Church at Kahawa West in Roysambu had told the congregation that the state had claimed that hosting the impeached DP would have amounted to incitement and disrupting the peace in the area.
Additional reporting by Mwangi Muiruri and Mercy Mwende
