One of the men allegedly hired to disrupt a post-budget meeting at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi has spoken publicly about how the operation was planned, claiming that a sitting Member of Parliament financed the mission and that plain-clothes police officers played a role in directing those involved.
In an interview with Citizen TV, the man said he and several others were recruited on Thursday evening and told they would be disrupting a political gathering linked to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
According to his account, each participant was promised Ksh2,000 and instructed to find a motorcycle, with two people riding on each bike.
He recalled being told, “Akatuambia kuna shughuli ya Rigathi Gachagua tao,” as the recruitment exercise got underway.
However, the plans reportedly changed the following morning when the group was redirected to All Saints Cathedral, where civil society members had gathered to discuss the national budget.
The man claimed that once they arrived in Nairobi’s city centre, plain-clothes police officers who had been moving with the group took charge of the operation.
He alleged that the officers gave instructions on where the men should go and how they should position themselves around the venue.
According to his testimony, the group initially entered the area using motorcycles before being ordered to move them elsewhere.
“Kufika huko tukaingia na ma pikipiki, hao mapolisi tulikuwa nao wakasema hii inachoma,” he said.
He explained that they were instructed to relocate to a nearby construction site that was believed to be outside the reach of surveillance cameras.
That plan reportedly failed when one of the group members noticed CCTV cameras at the location.
Fearing they could be identified, the operation was abandoned and the men dispersed before receiving the full payment they had been promised.
The man further claimed that such assignments are not unusual and that politicians regularly hire groups for similar activities.
He alleged that those behind such operations sometimes encourage participants to take advantage of the chaos, including stealing from members of the public.
He also expressed concern about the consequences facing those who took part. While he claims the politician who organized the operation remains free, he said several members of the group are now being pursued by police, with at least two already arrested.
“Kama mtu alikuwa hapo hatukujua itakuwa hivyo mpaka saa hii polisi wanakimbizana na watu,” he said.Meanwhile, All Saints Cathedral Provost Rev. Canon Evans Omollo alleged that efforts had been made to interfere with the case.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s Daybreak programme, he claimed that one suspect was released after influential individuals linked to the financiers intervened. He also alleged that two complainants whose phones were stolen during the incident were each paid Ksh24,000 to withdraw their complaints.
“The said people who financed this stepped in to kill this case because of the publicity it has attracted,” Omollo said.
“The guy was released. Two people whose phones were allegedly stolen and went to complain were reimbursed 24,000 each so that this case is killed.”
The incident has also attracted political attention, with Oburu Odinga calling for leaders to address what he described as the growing culture of political goonism.
He argued that politicians from different sides of the political divide have increasingly relied on hired groups, a trend he said should come to an end.
Police have maintained that investigations into the attack at All Saints Cathedral are still ongoing as authorities seek to establish the circumstances surrounding the disruption and identify those responsible.
