Gachagua, MP Arama clash over Nakuru convoy attack exposes fresh cracks in United Opposition

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The attack on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s convoy in Nakuru Town West Constituency has ignited fresh tensions within the United Opposition, threatening to destabilise the fragile alliance.

Mr Gachagua, who directly accused area MP Samuel Arama of orchestrating the violence, has questioned Jubilee Party’s commitment to the opposition camp, citing the hostility displayed by one of its own members.

He explained that the MP has been working alongside Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, a key ally of President Ruto, to plan and facilitate goons to attack critics of the current regime.

“We have a brief that President Ruto planned the attack through Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and area MP Samuel Arama, who was given money to disrupt our meeting in the constituency,” said Mr Gachagua.

Mr Gachagua has now taken on Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Dr Fred Matiang’i over the incident, which he says will affect their relationship going into the future.

“This Arama is pretending to be a member of the Jubilee Party but is working for President Ruto. And I have already told Dr Fred Matiang’i that Arama is a mole. So Dr Matiang’i will be the one to decide on his standing in the United Opposition,” said Mr Gachagua.

According to the DCP party leader, should the Jubilee Party fail to take serious disciplinary action against Mr Arama, the relationship between the two parties is likely to be greatly affected.

“If he is the one being used to disrupt our meetings, he cannot be part of our team and this will inform the way we relate with Jubilee because it cannot be that someone pretends to be a Jubilee Party member but is the one who is attacking us with stones and other crude weapons. It is not acceptable,” he said.

Reacting to the claims, however, Mr Arama denied involvement in planning the attack on Mr Gachagua and further warned him against dragging his name into what he called political backlash.

According to Mr Arama, Mr Gachagua has been running hate campaigns against other elected leaders, something that could have infuriated the residents of Nakuru West, and therefore he should blame himself.

“What we want in Nakuru is peace. I am shocked that he is accusing me of sending goons to him. Here we don’t have goons but voters. If he said things that voters did not like, he should not now turn things on me,” said Mr Arama.

He accused him of disrespecting other leaders in their regions by fielding candidates to rival those who do not subscribe to the DCP party.

Mr Arama further pointed out that he is yet to state which side of the political divide he supports and will make it known when the time is right.

Additionally, Mr Arama warned the former Deputy President against intimidating other leaders, noting that he will wait for him the next time he visits the constituency.

“Since I was not there and he is blaming me, so I have decided that next time he visits this constituency, he will find me and we will know who the boss here is,” he said.

Mr Gachagua made the claims in Nakuru town during his second-day tour of the county, where he maintained that attacks on his meetings are well coordinated and planned by State operatives who are funding and protecting the goons.

The attack on his convoy occurred on the first day of his tour of the Rift Valley, which began in Naivasha and Gilgil, moved to Nakuru East and ended in Nakuru Town East, where they met a hostile crowd at Kaptembwo.

The youth, who were chanting “Two Tutam” slogans, pelted stones at the convoy, damaging vehicles belonging to DCP leaders.

Mr Gachagua has, however, claimed that the attack was planned by the State, pointing an accusing finger at President Ruto and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, whom he accused of issuing instructions to the police on how to behave during the attacks.

Mr Gachagua, in his press briefing, indicated that the police were either forced to work with the goons and provide them with security as they attacked opposition groups or keep off from the disruptions.

Referring to the incident on Friday, Mr Gachagua said police officers were well aware of the planned attack on his convoy but decided to stay away from the fracas in line with the instructions.

“From the brief that we have, President Ruto took issue with Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria for failing to thwart our meeting. To him, being able to disrupt the opposition’s meeting is what qualifies one to be a man,” said the former DP.

In addition, the DCP leader accused the President of ethnicising the National Police Service by appointing individuals from his community to the positions of station and regional commanders in regions perceived to be unfriendly to the government.

He announced plans by the DCP party to mobilise its supporters to protect their leaders and meetings.

Mr Gachagua indicated that the attack caught them flat-footed after the Interior CS announced that the government was going to end the issue of goons.

“Yesterday we were caught unawares since CS Murkomen had committed to end goons, but now we are on high alert. We have told our teams to organise themselves and be on standby for any disruption of our meetings. We have also put Molo, Njoro and Rongai sub-counties on high alert,” he said.

During his tour, the DCP leader opened party offices in Nakuru West and Njoro, where he vowed to return to the area to campaign for the DCP candidate.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.