The attack on Sunday, January 25, 2026, occurred at approximately 11:00 AM at the Witima ACK Church in Othaya.
Witnesses described a coordinated assault involving 15 armed men in jungle fatigues who arrived in a van and a Toyota Probox.
The group allegedly lobbed tear gas canisters directly into the sanctuary while children and elderly worshippers were inside before firing live ammunition at the church doors and shattering the windscreens of parked vehicles, including Gachagua’s Toyota Land Cruiser (KDK 002).
Gachagua’s “lethal” claim today, Friday, January 30, is that he has identified the 12 specific officers involved.
He alleges they were briefed during a breakfast meeting in Nyeri on Sunday morning before moving to the church.
He further claims the unit is under the command of two bodyguards currently attached to a high-ranking woman representative from the Mt. Kenya region.
These allegations have been bolstered by a “leak” from an officer who claimed to have been part of the planning team, stating that a 15-man squad was cleared in Nairobi on Friday evening.
The response from the state has been divided. Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen and DP Kithure Kindiki have both strongly condemned the violence, with Murkomen ordering IG Douglas Kanja to pursue the perpetrators regardless of their “status in society.”
However, UDA-aligned leaders, including Murang’a Woman Rep Betty Maina, have labeled the incident a “sympathy script” authored by Gachagua and Cleophas Malala.
This “staged” narrative is being challenged by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), which has been directed to explain why local police were conspicuously absent during a 30-minute gun battle at a high-profile event.
The political fallout is immense. Gachagua has used the trauma of the event comparing it to the 2008 Kiambaa Church tragedy to solidify his “martyr” status among the GEMA community.
Opposition figures like Kalonzo Musyoka and Fred Matiang’i have characterized the event as a “state-sanctioned terror” intended to intimidate the “Resistance” movement.
The discovery of 7.62mm cartridges (standard AK-47 ammunition) in the church compound has added a layer of criminal gravity that makes it difficult for the government to dismiss the incident as a mere political scuffle.
As of today, Friday, January 30, no arrests have been made, a delay Gachagua calls “disappointing and telling.”
With the February 1 opposition meeting looming, the former DP has called on the international community to monitor Kenya for state-sponsored political violence.
If Gachagua releases the names of the 12 officers before the police conclude their investigation, the resulting public backlash could trigger a massive “Mountain Revolt” that would threaten the stability of the UDA-ODM Super Alliance.
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