Police Lob Teargas as Goons Stone Rigathi Gachagua's Motorcade
- Police were forced to intervene to cushion former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua's motorcade from attacks by armed goons
- The DCP leader's motorcade from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was advancing toward Nairobi CBD when goons started hurling stones
- The police lobbed tear gas to disperse the crowds as a section of Gachagua's supporters started retaliating against the goons
There was a moment of confrontation between former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua's supporters and armed goons who hurled stones at his motorcade as it plied Mombasa Road headed to the Nairobi City Centre.
Source: Twitter
Gachagua landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) moments past noon on Thursday, August 21.
He touched down to a fairly rousing reception from his supporters who had gathered inside and outside the airport from morning to welcome him after his political tour of the United States.
How goons attacked Gachagua's convoy
Immediately after his arrival, Gachagua's motorcade left the JKIA for the CBD.
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Everything was smooth until the convoy reached Imara Daima, near a roundabout on the Airport North Road, where they ran into contingents of goons that had been waiting.
They reportedly threw stones at the motorcade, slowing it down as some of Gachagua's supporters took to their heels for their safety.
A section of the DCP leader's supporters retaliated, prompting the intervention of the police on standby, who immediately launched tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The chaotic display disrupted the traffic flow there for a time before Gachagua's convoy advanced toward the city.
Video; courtesy
Who sent goons to Gachagua's reception?
Speaking later in their first stopover on Mombasa Road, Gachagua's allies linked the attack by goons to the state and the Nairobi county government.
DCP deputy leader Cleophas Malala claimed that Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja had contracted the youth
Murang'a senator Joe Nyutu asserted that the choppers that were visible in the air were coordinating goons on the ground.
Earlier, there was drama inside the airport where police manned and barred Gachagua's allies from accessing.
Malala had strived to access the lounge where Gachagua was, but law enforcers pushed him back as the supporters behind him ululated in the background.
The former deputy president would later emerge, forcing his way through the lounge while sandwiched in his supporters.
Why Gachagua returned to Kenya
The former deputy departed Nairobi for the US on July 9 and was to stay there for at least two months, during which he would advance his political agenda and court the Kenyan diasporians in the US to his side.
He traversed a couple of states where he met his supporters, to whom he sold his mission of challenging President William Ruto out of power.
Source: Twitter
He, however, weeks later, prematurely announced his return to Kenya after what he termed as a successful tour.
On August 14, 36 days since he left Kenya, Gachagua announced he would be returning, acknowledging that he had cut short his trip without exhausting all the scheduled engagements.
He said he would return to the US early next year to finish up the untouched agenda.
Back home, his DCP party attributed Gachagua's abrupt return to the upcoming by-elections.
Malala, DCP's deputy leader, explained that the party needed the active input of Gachagua as it prepares to debut in the scheduled by-elections.
Will DCP field candidates in the November by-elections?
DCP intends to field candidates in most of the elective areas where the Independent Electoral and Boundaries (IEBC) announced the mini polls in.
The electoral agency gazetted by-elections to be held in 24 areas where previously elected leaders died or resigned to take up other assignments within the executive.
The polls are slated for November 27 this year, and will be undertaken in six constituencies, 16 wards and one county for the senatorial seat.
DCP was launched in May this year, and hence seeks to weigh its political muscle through the by-elections after months of popularisation and mobilising support.
The outfit is Gachagua's main political party after he was expelled from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
