EMBU, Kenya — A political standoff over Saturday’s deadly clashes in Embu escalated sharply on Sunday, after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua published what he said was a screenshot of a WhatsApp message from Deputy President Kithure Kindiki to Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, while Mukunji said he had to flee his own home by motorcycle to evade arresting officers.
The exchange marks a dramatic new turn in the fallout from Saturday’s violence at Nembure Stadium, where youths clashed with police outside a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) meeting addressed by Kindiki, leaving at least one person dead and several vehicles destroyed.
“Hundreds of policemen are surrounding his home”
In a statement posted to X on Sunday, Gachagua alleged that hundreds of police officers had surrounded Mukunji’s Embu home with orders to arrest him in connection with Saturday’s clashes.
“The harassment of Hon. Gitonga Mukunji by Kithure Kindiki and Cecily Mbarire is unacceptable. Hundreds of policemen are surrounding his Embu home, with orders to arrest him for the violent clashes between citizens and police yesterday in Embu,” Gachagua said, naming both Kindiki and Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire.
Gachagua went further, publishing what he described as a screenshot of a WhatsApp message Kindiki had sent Mukunji following the clashes.
According to the message as shared by Gachagua, Kindiki wrote: “Concentrate on your trap-making agenda, wachana na FAYA MAN. Hata sijaanza… You will soon realize how stupid it was to bring your fights with other people to me.”
Neither Kindiki’s office nor Governor Mbarire had, by the time of filing, publicly confirmed or disputed the authenticity of the screenshot. This report treats the message as an allegation made by Gachagua, not as independently verified communication.
Mukunji says he fled by boda boda to reach church
Speaking at a church service in Manyatta Constituency on Sunday, Mukunji said armed police officers had made several attempts to arrest him at his home that morning, forcing him to escape on a motorcycle to make it to the service.
“Today has been a challenging day for me. I am waiting for them to come and arrest me here at the house of God. I had made the decision that, even if they try to invade my house, I will sneak using a boda boda until I come here,” Mukunji told the congregation.
Mukunji, an ally of Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), has been accused by Kindiki and Mbarire of links to individuals allegedly involved in organising Saturday’s disruption. Mukunji has denied any involvement in the clashes.
Competing accounts of what triggered the violence
Gachagua has offered his own account of what sparked Saturday’s chaos, claiming — without providing evidence — that the violence erupted after thousands of residents were locked out of Nembure Stadium, where he alleged campaign funds were being distributed.
He further claimed Kindiki had been allocated money to influence residents across Embu and the wider Mt Kenya East region, a claim that has not been independently substantiated.
“My advice to Mr William Ruto is to take his money elsewhere, as any money spent in the mountain is of no consequence, just as it happened in Ol Kalou,” Gachagua said, referencing an earlier political contest in which he claims similar spending failed to sway voters.
Kindiki and Mbarire have not publicly responded in detail to Gachagua’s specific claims about the source of the violence. Mbarire has separately maintained that Mukunji is connected to individuals responsible for the chaos.
A rising death toll disputed
The political dispute has unfolded alongside conflicting accounts of the human toll from Saturday’s violence. Police earlier confirmed one fatality from the clashes, with a second death reported but not officially confirmed at the time.
By Sunday, Mukunji was publicly mourning two named individuals, Lewis and Munene, whom he said had been killed by police during the unrest.
“We have lost yet another two young souls allegedly at the hands of the police through the orders of Kithure Kindiki and Cecily Mbarire,” Mukunji said in a separate statement, an allegation of direct responsibility that neither Kindiki’s office nor police have publicly addressed.
Separately, police have confirmed that two suspects have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s violence, though authorities have not detailed their alleged roles or connection, if any, to the political dispute now playing out between Gachagua and Kindiki.
Gachagua vows legal defence, frames arrest as political gain
Gachagua said he had mobilised lawyers to represent Mukunji, including anticipating a possible arrest at the church service itself.
“I want to assure DCP supporters that I have mobilised our lawyers to defend Hon. Mukunji once arrested in church where he will attend,” he said, adding that any prosecution would only strengthen Mukunji’s political standing ahead of a possible bid for the Embu governorship in 2027.
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He also framed the episode as part of a wider effort by Mt Kenya residents to resist attempts to divide the region politically, declaring: “The Mountain is one! The future is Green.”
Political tensions in Mt Kenya deepen
The confrontation adds a highly personal dimension to the broader rivalry between Gachagua and Kindiki, both prominent Mt Kenya politicians positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election.
It also comes as questions remain over the exact circumstances of Saturday’s violence, including the full casualty count and the roles, if any, played by specific individuals now caught up in the political fallout.
Local media outlets have reported that other Mt Kenya legislators, including MP Ndegwa Njiru, have publicly challenged police over the treatment of Mukunji and demanded a direct statement from Kindiki addressing the allegations.
