Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was on Sunday, January 11, 2026, caught up in yet another teargas incident, this time inside a church service in Kiambu County.
The chaos erupted at AIPCA Kiamuoria Church in Gatundu North, where Gachagua had gone to worship alongside his supporters. Witnesses reported that teargas was lobbed near the church compound, affecting congregants including women and children, forcing parts of the service to be disrupted.
Speaking moments later, a visibly angry Gachagua blamed President William Ruto, accusing the state of using security agencies to intimidate him and silence opposition voices. He apologised to worshippers caught up in the incident and described the teargassing of a church as a “desecration of a holy place.”
“This habit of throwing teargas in churches must stop. Women, children and worshippers should never be targeted,” Gachagua told the congregation in Kikuyu and Swahili.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation from leaders allied to Gachagua, with critics warning that the repeated use of force during church services signals a dangerous erosion of democratic space as the country edges closer to the 2027 General Election.
This marks another church-linked teargassing involving Gachagua, following a similar incident in Nairobi’s Kariobangi North in late 2025, raising fresh concerns over political intolerance and the use of force in places of worship.
