Several injured as police fire teargas at Gachagua rally in Kikuyu
Several injured as police fire teargas at Gachagua rally in Kikuyu
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua was on Saturday teargassed in Kikuyu following a heavy standoff with police officers as he attempted to address a gathering of youth.
The situation quickly escalated into chaos after an unidentified individual reportedly stormed the rally carrying a sack of bees, triggering panic among supporters.
According to witnesses, the individual carrying the bees’ sack was seriously injured after being stabbed in the ensuing commotion.
Police moved in to contain the situation, blocking key access roads into Kikuyu Town as Gachagua’s supporters remained defiant, chanting party slogans and demanding to be addressed by their leader.
Amid the commotion, Gachagua and his supporters remained defiant, staying at the same spot where teargas canisters had been lobbed. The DCP leader was seen instructing his supporters to use water to wash off the effects of the teargas smoke.
Earlier, anti-riot police lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the crowd, with running battles witnessed between officers and sections of the youth who had gathered for the rally.
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Officers also fired shots into the air in an attempt to push back the crowd, as tensions continued to rise in the town centre just minutes before Gachagua and his opposition counterparts arrived.
In the chaos, several people were reportedly trampled on as crowds fled from the teargas, with fears of more injuries as police struggled to restore order.
“Put out the teargas. It is very unfortunate that Mr Ichung’wah, you are sending police and goons to come and harm your very own people,” Gachagua claimed, while accusing National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah of being behind the mayhem and chaos witnessed.
On Saturday morning, movement was paralysed for several hours on the Southern Bypass near Kikuyu after goons blocked the road and started demanding money from motorists.
However, Gachagua, while responding to the incident, linked the unrest along the Southern Bypass and in Kikuyu to what he described as a broader state-backed scheme involving organised groups working alongside security agencies.
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