Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua this afternoon faced a dramatic and unprecedented backlash in Narok, where angry residents blocked his convoy from entering the town, prompting police to fire tear gas and live rounds in the air to clear an escape route.
The confrontation, erupting just three days before the hotly contested Narok Town Ward by-election, is the clearest sign yet that Gachagua’s abrasive, tribe-tinged politicking is beginning to meet open resistance beyond his Mt Kenya base.
What was billed as a routine campaign stop for Rigathi Gachagua quickly turned volatile. Crowds chanting anti-Gachagua slogans erected barricades, accusing him of exporting “Mt Kenya tribal wars” into Maasai territory.
“We make our own decisions here — we don’t want outsiders bringing division,” a resident told reporters as tensions flared.
Police, vastly outnumbered, struggled to contain the swelling crowd before lobbing tear gas and firing warning shots to force a path through the blockade. Several residents were injured in the melee as Gachagua’s motorcade sped off under escort.
The Narok confrontation caps a bruising month for Gachagua. Just days ago in Mbeere North, his harsh attacks on Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and UDA leaders drew public rebukes, with Kindiki warning him to stop “demeaning and attacking leaders for political gain.” ODM leaders, too, have in recent weeks accused him of “ethnic interference” in Narok politics — a charge now echoed by residents themselves.
Analysts say today’s backlash marks a dangerous turning point. Once a central figure in Kenya Kwanza, Gachagua has increasingly isolated himself, repositioning as a regional grievance champion even as voters in swing counties demand unity, not brinkmanship.
With the upcoming by-elections, DCP now confronts an uncomfortable truth: Gachagua’s combative strategy may be shrinking his national footprint rather than expanding it.
In Narok today, the verdict was emphatic — and delivered in the streets: Enough.
