{"id":130439,"date":"2026-02-09T19:02:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kihika-fires-back-at-gachagua-rejects-police-interference-claims-cites-business-extortion-attempts\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T19:02:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:02:49","slug":"kihika-fires-back-at-gachagua-rejects-police-interference-claims-cites-business-extortion-attempts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kihika-fires-back-at-gachagua-rejects-police-interference-claims-cites-business-extortion-attempts\/","title":{"rendered":"Kihika Fires Back at Gachagua: Rejects Police Interference Claims, Cites Business Extortion Attempts"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 9 \u2013 Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has launched a blistering rebuttal to allegations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, dismissing his claims as baseless and accusing him of peddling intimidation, extortion and ethnic incitement in his political engagements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement, Kihika rejected Gachagua\u2019s assertion that her husband, businessman Sam Mburu, used police officers to block the former DP\u2019s meetings in Nakuru County.<\/p>\n

She described the claims as \u2018reckless\u2019 and \u2018desperate,\u2019 saying Gachagua was attempting to deflect from his own political troubles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad! Mr Gachagua you are losing it! My spouse clearly lives rent free in your head, is it because he refused to be blackmailed & extorted by you,\u201dKihika said.<\/p>\n

The Nakuru Governor accused Gachagua of being fixated on her spouse and alleging he had previously attempted to coerce Mburu into business dealings, including demands for a so-called \u2018protection fee,\u2019 which she said were flatly refused.<\/p>\n

She claimed to have evidence of the alleged approaches, including proposals involving sugar importation and partnerships with Gachagua\u2019s family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you have him do business with your son? (Have the evidence) Didn\u2019t you call him to partner with you for importation of sugar and he declined that you now want to come here and act brand new? Let me stop there but know you can\u2019t intimidate us and there is a lot more where that came from,\u201dKihika expressed.<\/p>\n

The governor further accused the former deputy president of using his recent stop in Kinamba, Naivasha, to hurl insults at her family rather than articulate a national agenda, questioning his fitness for leadership and referencing his impeachment from office.<\/p>\n

Kihika also rejected any suggestion that Nakuru County was hostile to political visitors, insisting the county remained open to all leaders regardless of political affiliation. However, she warned against what she termed inflammatory rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the avoidance of doubt let me repeat what I said about your visit to Nakuru, you like any other person are welcome to come to Nakuru anytime HOWEVER your hobby of incitement and bad manners should be checked at the county\u2019s entrance. We are a cosmopolitan County and don\u2019t entertain small minded tribal bigots! Umezidi!\u201dshe asserted.<\/p>\n

Gachagua\u2019s allegations<\/h2>\n

Gachagua had accused the husband of Nakuru Governor Kimani Kihika of using police officers to disrupt his political engagements in the county, alleging that law enforcement has been commandeered for partisan purposes.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Monday, Gachagua claimed that officers under the command of Naivasha OCPD Wilson Sigei and Nakuru County Commander Opuru Emmanuel blocked his entourage from entering Nakuru from Nyandarua County to address a public meeting at Kinamba Trading Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe busybody ordered the Nakuru County Commander to erect a roadblock at Karati River and stop my entourage from entering Nakuru County. The police, in four Land Cruisers with officers masking their faces, harassed members of the public for over an hour before withdrawing after hundreds of agitated residents demanded access,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

He accused the Inspector-General of Police Dougals Kanja \u00a0of failing to exercise authority over officers in Nakuru, alleging that the police command has effectively been surrendered to Governor Kihika\u2019s husband, a businessman involved in the importation of duty-free sugar and rice, to advance personal and political interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure as December 25th is Christmas, the IG seems to have no control of the police in Nakuru County. The command has regrettably been surrendered to a business associate of Governor Kihika, to the detriment of the Kenyan public and farmers,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

The former DP claimed that this was not an isolated incident. He recalled similar interference in March 2025, when police allegedly disrupted his meetings in Mai Mahiu and Naivasha town, prompting complaints from junior officers that they were being misused for dirty political work while crime in the sub-county remained unchecked.<\/p>\n

Gachagua also referenced a meeting he attended with the Inspector-General on January 30, 2026, where the police chief assured national leaders that the National Police Service would remain apolitical and respect constitutional freedoms, including freedom of assembly and movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe doubted your assurances but nevertheless gave you the benefit of the doubt, knowing very well you have surrendered the command of the National Police Service to politicians, political operatives, and goons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He urged the Inspector-General to publicly explain why police command in Nakuru has allegedly been handed over to the governor\u2019s spouse and warned that such actions undermine public trust in law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. IG, you need to inform the public why you have surrendered the command of the National Police Service to a business associate of Governor Kihika,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

He urged the Inspector-General to explain to the public why police command in Nakuru has allegedly been handed over to politically affiliated individuals, warning that such actions undermine public trust in law enforcement and threaten the safety of citizens.<\/p>\n

The former DP also highlighted what he described as the repeated targeting of his political events by police, calling for accountability from senior officers and the Inspector-General.<\/p>\n

Last month, Opposition leaders threatened to launch nationwide demonstrations if police officers allegedly involved in a violent attack at ACK St. Peter\u2019s Witima Church in Othaya, Nyeri County, are not arrested and charged.<\/p>\n

Gachagua said the opposition delivered a stern message to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, demanding swift action against the officers accused of targeting worshippers during the Sunday service on January 25.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 9 \u2013 Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has launched a blistering rebuttal to allegations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, dismissing his claims as baseless and accusing him of peddling intimidation, extortion and ethnic incitement in his political engagements. In a statement, Kihika rejected Gachagua\u2019s assertion that her husband, businessman Sam Mburu, used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}