Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has given fresh details of how church leaders at Witima ACK in Othaya, Nyeri County, helped save his security team after police fired teargas during a Sunday service.
He said swift intervention by the clergy and choir members prevented what he described as a potentially fatal outcome.
According to Gachagua, as teargas filled the church and panic spread among congregants, church leaders quickly devised a plan to help his team escape without attracting further attention from security officers stationed outside.
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Choir members reportedly handed over their uniforms to members of his security detail, allowing them to blend in and leave the church discreetly.
Gachagua further revealed that a senior church official went a step further by giving his clerical robe to a bodyguard who had allegedly been marked for shooting. Disguised as a priest, the bodyguard was able to escort Gachagua out of the church compound without being confronted.
“They wanted to shoot my bodyguard, but when they saw him dressed like a priest, they did not,” Gachagua said.
He expressed gratitude to the clergy, church leadership, and congregants, saying their actions demonstrated courage and compassion under extreme pressure.
He maintained that the incident should never have occurred, particularly in a place of worship.
The former deputy president strongly criticised the use of teargas in a church setting, terming it an attack on the sanctity of worship and the safety of civilians, including women and children who were present.
The National Police Service has indicated that it is reviewing the events surrounding the teargas deployment at the church, as questions persist over who authorised the operation and why it escalated inside a religious gathering.