One person is dead. Six vehicles lie burnt out at Nembure Stadium in Embu County. That was Saturday’s toll from the Embu violence. By Sunday, the story had moved to a quiet homestead in Mutunduri, where a sitting MP says he fled on a motorcycle rather than face the police waiting at his gate.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki was addressing a United Democratic Alliance meeting on Saturday when the Embu violence broke out. Hundreds of youths locked out of the venue tried to force their way in. Police responded with tear gas. The confrontation then spilled onto the surrounding streets.
Embu West police boss Vincent Kitili confirmed one fatality by evening. The National Police Service said several suspects had been arrested at the scene. It added that the deputy president was evacuated safely before order was restored.
By Sunday, the Embu violence had produced a second flashpoint. Former Deputy President Gachagua claimed hundreds of police officers had surrounded the rural home of Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji in Mutunduri. He said the officers had orders to arrest the MP over the Nembure clashes.
Six vehicles were torched, among them a car belonging to Royal Media journalist Edward Murimi. Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire put the number of burnt vehicles closer to ten. She said delegates were robbed as they left, with some taking shelter in nearby homes.
Kindiki pressed on with the meeting once the disruption eased. He accused Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku of trying to split the Mt Kenya region into eastern and western blocs. He also warned Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua of a “humiliating” contest ahead of the 2027 election.
Gachagua alleged Kindiki had sent Mukunji a WhatsApp message threatening to deal with him once the chaos was traced back to the MP. He said he had already briefed lawyers to defend Mukunji once he was arrested.
Mukunji told a church congregation in Manyatta that armed officers had tried to invade his home that morning. He said he sensed their approach and slipped away on a boda boda before they arrived, rather than wait to be picked up at home.
He told worshippers he was waiting for officers to arrest him at the house of God. He described the standoff as a challenging day.
The MP later put a figure on the deployment. He told Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen directly that around 100 officers had been stationed at his gate since six in the morning. He questioned why so many were needed for one man.
Mbarire has accused Mukunji of organising the youths who disrupted Saturday’s meeting, a claim he rejects. He has asked why he is blamed whenever trouble flares in Embu, insisting he played no part in the Embu violence.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said two suspects had already been arrested over the unrest, with more expected to follow. It warned that political affiliation offers no shield from prosecution for anyone who torched vehicles, blocked roads or attacked officers during the Embu violence.
Journalists covering the meeting were also caught up in the chaos, with at least two vehicles belonging to reporters destroyed. Local press bodies have condemned the attacks.
The clashes have exposed a widening split within Mt Kenya politics ahead of 2027. Kindiki and Mbarire, both allied to President William Ruto’s camp, now stand accused by Gachagua of weaponising the police against a rival MP. They, in turn, accuse his allies of orchestrating the Embu violence used against them.
For now, Mukunji remains free. The officers outside his gate have not made an arrest. Embu residents are left counting burnt cars from the Embu violence, and waiting to see who investigators say lit the match.
