Tension briefly flared in Meru County on Sunday, March 8, after leaders affiliated with the United Opposition claimed they were prevented from accessing a church service where Kithure #Kindiki was the chief guest.
According to reports, members of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s advance team were denied entry to a service at Kaaga Methodist Church, leading to a brief confrontation with security officers stationed at the venue.
Security presence around the church had been noticeably heightened earlier in the day, with dozens of police officers deployed in and around the premises. The officers were reportedly positioned in anticipation of possible tensions between rival political camps expected to attend the service.
Videos circulating online later showed some of Gachagua’s allies, including senatorial aspirant Caroline Karimi Muriuki, questioning officers over the decision to deny them entry. Muriuki argued that the group had been formally invited by the church leadership and therefore deserved access to the service.
“They have deployed more than 100 police officers. Even near our hotel there are officers everywhere. We want to understand why we cannot enter yet the bishop invited us,” she said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ndegwa Njiru alleged that the personal assistant to the former deputy president had been taken by security officers. He further claimed that police had surrounded the hotel where members of the opposition team spent the night, effectively preventing them from travelling to the church.
Njiru questioned the heavy deployment, saying they had travelled to #Meru solely to attend the church service and were surprised to find themselves under tight security surveillance.
Reports later indicated that the opposition group opted to attend a separate service at East Africa Pentecostal Church Njotene Parish in Buuri Constituency.
Kindiki confirmed his attendance at the Kaaga service, which marked the induction of Rev. David Muthuia Mwiti as Bishop of the Kaaga Synod under the Methodist Church in Kenya.
By the time of publication, neither the deputy president nor the National Police Service had publicly responded to the allegations raised by the opposition.
