Kang’ata’s Driver Shot in Nyahururu Chaos Days Before Ol Kalou By-Election

Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata says his driver, identified only as Gitari, was shot in the chest during chaos at a Linda Mwananchi rally in Nyahururu on Sunday, July 12. Gitari is hospitalised with a bullet lodged in his chest, and doctors have not yet confirmed whether it was a live round or a rubber bullet. The shooting comes four days before the tightly contested Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.

What Kang’ata says happened

The Linda Mwananchi convoy had already shifted plans. The movement pulled out of Ol Kalou over security concerns and redirected to Nyahururu town instead, saying it had intelligence that groups were mobilised to attack it.

Kang’ata says the trouble started at an AIPCA church service, where the group was stoned. From there his vehicle was blocked and, he claims, confiscated by goons. Gitari was shot somewhere in that chaos.

“We are yet to ascertain whether it’s a live bullet or a rubber bullet,” Kang’ata told journalists.

Police, or hired goons? 

Here’s where the account gets murky. In one statement, Kang’ata said plainly that his driver “was injured by police.” In others, the shooting is described as the work of rowdy youths or hired goons who stormed the rally.

No police statement has confirmed either version, and no arrests have been announced. This is currently one man’s account of a chaotic scene, not a settled fact.

Not the first Linda Mwananchi rally to turn violent

This fits a pattern the movement says it’s been dealing with for weeks. A convoy linked to the group was attacked in Kisii on July 3. A DCP campaign truck was vandalised in Gilgil on Saturday. And on the same Sunday as the Nyahururu shooting, a separate Linda Mwananchi event in Kisumu was disrupted when suspected goons set motorcycles on fire.

Former Trade CS Moses Kuria was quick to back Kang’ata, insisting the violence wasn’t planned by the opposition side. Belgut MP Nelson Koech went further, pointing at DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua. Koech linked the attack to a prior warning Gachagua had reportedly given Kang’ata against setting foot in Ol Kalou during the campaign.

Gachagua has not responded publicly to that claim.

Political rallies turning violent four days before a by-election is not a small thing. Ol Kalou is being watched as an early test of strength ahead of 2027, and both sides now have competing, unverified narratives about who started the violence. Until police speak, that gap will keep fueling accusations on both sides.