Gunshots were fired yesterday during a church service attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as armed men invaded the sanctuary, turning it into a scene of chaos.
No one was injured although the service was temporarily disrupted at the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Mwiki, Kasarani subcounty.
Shouts broke outside the church compound moments after the impeached DP and his team arrived for the morning service.
Gachagua has pledged to deny President William Ruto a second term.
In a livestreaming of the attack, the youths could be seen shouting while attempting to force their way in.
Congregants screamed and ducked for cover, some crawled under pews as the commotion intensified.
Witnesses said the group appeared organised and agitated, with some carrying guns.
Gachagua was accompanied, by among others, MPs James Gakuya (Embakasi North), Kamande Mwafrika (Roysambu), Amos Mwago (Starehe), Jayne Kihara (Naivasha) and Benjamin Mejjadonk (Embakasi Central).
Also in Gachagua’s entourage were Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu, former UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala and MP Mercy Gakuya.
Gachagua was quickly shielded by his security team, who took up defensive positions to prevent the group from gaining access.
“Let us be calm, please,” the presiding bishop told the congregation as the disruption unfolded, although it lasted only for a few minutes.
The violence broke out as Gachagua made his first public appearance since last week when Ruto began his five-day tour of the Mt Kenya region.
Gachagua, who has maintained a studious silence in the face of the President’s Mt Kenya tour, condemned the violence, blaming it on the government.
The former Deputy President, without presenting evidence, blamed his former boss and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for planning his attack inside the church.
“Sending goons to the church, Mr President, what happened to you? These Christians are the ones who prayed your way to power,” Gachagua said.
“You have traversed Mt Kenya and nobody attacked you, let us be decent people. Let us visit any part of the country.”
“Even if you want pursue us, don’t pursue us inside the church. Even if you eliminate Rigathi Gachagua, nothing will change; it will even be more complicated for you.”
He also pledged to release more information from the dossier on allegations made against him by his former boss on the eve of his Mt Kenya tour.
“We don’t understand why some people send goons to attack us. I don’t want to talk much because I will address the nation tomorrow, I have something to say,” the former DP said.
