The untouchable: Is power couple's hand in Gachagua's woes?

Murang'a Woman Representative Betty Maina and Mathira MP Erick Wamumbi at Weithaga ACK Retreat Centre in Murang'a. [File, Standard] They have almost always been mentioned in connection with chaotic incidents at church services and political meetings attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. In their defence, Murang'a Woman Representative Betty Maina and Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi - who are wife and husband - appear to have detailed accounts of the violence. Yet they have never recorded statements with the police, nor have they been summoned to provide clarity to aid investigations. On Sunday, Gachagua claimed that Maina and her husband were responsible for the attack at Witima ACK Church in Othaya, Nyeri County. He alleged that two bodyguards associated with the Murang'a Woman Rep and hired goons targeted women and children inside the church. Gachagua has previously accused Maina of assuming the role of a police commander and issuing orders to officers to cause mayhem and harm him. The incidents include one in July 2025 during a church service at AIPCA Christ the King Church in Kigumo, where police used teargas to prevent Gachagua from addressing residents. Another incident occurred on May 18, 2025, when police mounted roadblocks at Thika Blue Post. On November 24 last year, Gachagua alleged that Maina's bodyguard and other police officers issued orders to block him from accessing Narok Town, where he was campaigning for his DCP candidate, Douglas Twala, who went on to win the MCA seat. The two leaders' proximity to President William Ruto and the influence they wield have also come under sharp focus, raising questions about whether police can independently interrogate. The National Police Service (NPS) defended its decision not to immediately summon Maina or her security detail following claims linking them to the disruption of the Othaya church service. "We have what I would call a semi-independent body. It is called the Internal Affairs Unit, and it has very clear instructions to get to the bottom of this. This mandate has been taken away from ordinary police officers - not even the DCI or the local police station," said NPS spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga. He said it was too early to conclude whether those mentioned in the incident, including the Woman Rep's bodyguard, had already been summoned, noting that investigations had only just begun. "I know everybody would want to see blood immediately, now, this minute, but we are a country of laws. All investigations must be carried out with fairness and reasonableness," he said. By the time of going to press yesterday, police had not announced whether summons had been issued to the alleged perpetrators of the violence that left children traumatised and congregants injured. The couple are widely regarded as President Ruto's political "fixers" in Mt Kenya, whose voices matter in the President's decisions in the region, especially after his fallout with Gachagua, his former deputy. Maina and Wamumbi, once close allies of Gachagua, have since become his harshest critics. From handpicking Wamumbi to succeed him in the Mathira seat after Gachagua was chosen as Ruto's running mate in the 2022 election, to serving as the lead negotiator during the MPs' dowry ceremony on November 18, 2023, the three have since turned into the bitterest of political rivals. Gachagua has repeatedly named the two politicians as masterminds behind attacks on him, accusing them of using police officers and hired goons to foment violence at his meetings. Although the two have dismissed the claims, questions persist about their influence, given that despite numerous allegations linking them to the attacks, they have never been arrested or summoned by police to record statements. On Sunday, Gachagua again accused Maina and Wamumbi of orchestrating the attack at Witima ACK Church in Nyeri. Eric Wamumbi and Betty Maina. [File, Standard] He claimed that goons ferried from Murang'a first reported to Wamumbi's home, where they had breakfast before receiving instructions on their mission. "It was an attempt on my life. It is only by God's grace that we are alive," Gachagua said, dismissing Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen's statement that he had directed the Inspector General of Police to investigate the incident. However, Wamumbi and Maina accused the former Deputy President of stage-managing the violence to mobilise public sympathy after "failing to counter the Kenya Kwanza administration's development record". Speaking separately, they defended the police, saying officers went to the church to quell chaos. Maina said she had no interest in planning mayhem in Othaya or Narok, accusing Gachagua of attacking Ruto's Mt Kenya allies in a bid to intimidate them. She claimed the chaos at the church had been planned by Gachagua's allies and that police were called under false pretences to shift blame. "The former DP attended ACK Othaya. Seven minutes later, he was allegedly attacked. Instead of seeking safety, they locked themselves inside the church, not knowing whether the enemy was among them. They then called the police and spread a false alarm on social media that he had been abducted," she said. She added: "The alleged use of live bullets did not break a single window, nor did anyone sustain gunshot wounds. Your alarm invited police officers in cruisers armed with AK-47s, who coincidentally rescued you despite your hired goons pelting them with stones." Maina said she would file a defamation suit against Gachagua, saying time had come for him to substantiate his claims. Wamumbi, however, offered a different account. He claimed the teargas lobbed at congregants was sourced from an interdicted police constable attached to Gachagua, who allegedly used connections to obtain it while sourcing guns from licensed private holders. Announcing that he would record a statement with the DCI on Tuesday, Wamumbi said he had evidence linking Gachagua's allies to the church chaos and to violence during the November 27 Mbeere North by-election. "I have WhatsApp chats and call recordings of three of Gachagua's allies planning to buy clubs to cause violence in Mbeere North. That is what I will present to the DCI as I record my statement," said the first-term MP. Asked whether a government vehicle that allegedly accompanied goons to the church belonged to the interdicted officer, Wamumbi replied: "We have heard before of an entire police station - complete with OBs - being fake." Defending the officers attached to Maina, Wamumbi said: "For the record, the police officers attached to my wife are lawfully deployed members of the National Police Service. Attempts to criminalise lawful security deployment are not just dishonest; they are dangerous." Questions have since emerged over why Wamumbi appears to have intricate details of the violence directed at the former Deputy President, yet has never recorded a statement with police, or why police have not summoned him to assist investigations. On Friday, Nyaga called for patience, saying due process must be followed despite public pressure for immediate action, particularly given the disturbing scenes from the church. He nevertheless acknowledged the gravity of the images circulating online. "When you see images of children crying, those are not good scenes. That is terror. We cannot allow anarchy, but let us give the team a free hand to do what is expected," he said. Nyaga said the Inspector General had directed that the matter be handled urgently, adding that questions would be appropriate if investigations stalled. Police sources said senior regional security officers were summoned to Nyeri, where they spent more than three hours analysing the incident. No arrests have been made since Sunday. To demonstrate their closeness to the Kenya Kwanza administration, Wamumbi was among key MPs deployed to Mbeere North as agents of the UDA candidate, while Maina was assigned to Narok. Violence was reported in both areas, and to date no arrests have been made. Moments before Juja MP George Koimburi defected from Gachagua's Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), he was seen with the two leaders. They later posted on Facebook: "Ostriches are usually very friendly. Koimburi, that was a nice outing - wa mwisho azime stima na afunge mlango (the last person to leave should switch off the lights and close the door)," an apparent reference to defections from Gachagua's party. In April last year, Maina publicly claimed that she and other MPs aligned to the government collected Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employment letters from State House for distribution to constituents. "I went with 11 MPs from Kiambu, and each was given 20 letters, totalling 220," she said, adding that constituencies whose MPs did not attend missed out. "Zile constituencies wabunge wao hawakuja, watoto wa hizo constituencies hawakupata nafasi za kuajiriwa," she said.

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