NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 28 – Kirinyaga County MP Njeri Maina has called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service (NPS) to open a full investigation into political violence witnessed in Kirinyaga County on August 23, and has accused gubernatorial aspirant Wangui Ngirici, her political network, and her husband, Andrew Gichagua, of possible involvement.
“The events of 23rd August 2026 must concern every resident of Kirinyaga, regardless of political affiliation,” Maina said.
“What should have been an ordinary political activity descended into violence, intimidation, and fear, leaving several people injured and communities shaken.”
According to Maina, at least one person in Keragana allegedly sustained critical, life-threatening knife wounds during the chaos, an incident reported to police under OB number 17/26/08/2026.
She further alleged that women who had turned out to receive DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua in Kiamombe “were reportedly physically assaulted, threatened with further violence, and left fearful for their safety,” an incident logged under OB number 29/26/08/2026.
Maina alleged that video material she had earlier circulated appeared to show buses ferrying groups of people into the area before they disembarked and joined the rally crowd.
“Witness accounts and other material in opposition have raised serious questions about who transported these individuals, who facilitated their presence, and who subsequently directed their activities,” she said, adding that certain local persons of interest had been identified and that information would be shared with investigators.
The MP was careful to stress that the allegations against Ngirici and her associates remain unproven.
“These allegations must be investigated thoroughly, independently, and without fear or favor,” she said.
“They should neither be dismissed because of political connections nor treated as proven before investigators establish the facts.”
She pressed the NPS and DCI for answers on what has been done since the incident.
“Have the owners and operators of the buses identified been questioned? Who hired those buses? Who paid for them? … Have statements been taken from the injured persons and the women who say they were assaulted and threatened?” she asked, adding: “What is unacceptable, however, is silence.”
Maina also alleged that questions had circulated over whether Ngirici enjoyed political protection from “powerful quarters,” saying an independent investigation was the only way to settle the matter.
“If those suggestions are false, there is a straightforward way of dispelling the same: conduct an independent investigation and let the evidence speak for itself,” she said.
Warning against what she called a dangerous drift toward political goon culture, Maina said: “We cannot allow Kirinyaga to become a little Haiti… It begins with a few hired goons. Then comes the buses. Then comes the weapons.” She added: “No guns, no knives, no hired goons, no intimidation, no political violence.”
Gachagua, DCP’s party leader, was touring Kirinyaga on August 23 as part of a wider push to consolidate Mt Kenya support ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The visit was reportedly marked by friction after Ngirici was allegedly denied a chance to address the gathering, sparking public exchanges between her camp and Gachagua’s.
Separately, a section of leaders allied to Gachagua accused matatu operators of ferrying youths into the county to disrupt the rally, an allegation the company has denied, saying the passengers were students unconnected to any political activity.
The fallout has split opinion within DCP’s Kirinyaga ranks, with some aspirants accusing Maina of unfairly casting county residents as violent and calling for equal platform access for all gubernatorial hopefuls, including Ngirici.
Ngirici, the outgoing Kirinyaga Woman Representative now eyeing the county’s governorship in 2027, had not, by the time of filing, responded to Maina’s allegations.
