IPOA Lays Bare 6 Police Actions That Led To Teargas Chaos At Gachagua's Event
During the Thanksgiving event at Shamata Stadium in Nyandarua County, proceedings were disrupted after a teargas canister was hurled at the dais.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) on Thursday, January 2 laid bare a series of mismanagement issues by police in Nyandarua which culminated in the disruption of a thanksgiving event attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on December 28, 2024.
During the Thanksgiving event at Shamata Stadium in Nyandarua County, proceedings were disrupted after a teargas canister was hurled at the dais.
IPOA revealed that investigations into the incident highlighted a wave of unprofessionalism on the side of the police. The suspect, reportedly a police officer, was subjected to mob justice by the public, before being rescued by the police.
The authority exposed behind-the-scenes events that were mishandled by the law enforcement officers, including intel that should have motivated the decision to cancel the event.
IPOA speaking in a past press conference at the oversight authority's offices. /IPOA
"IPOA monitored the activity in order to provide recommendations and advisory for further action. The following were the findings: The event, organized by the area MCA was initially cancelled but later approved by the Aberdare Sub-County Security Committee on 27th December 2024," the authority revealed in part.
Furthermore, at least 60 police officers were deployed without an official operation order. The County Police Commander was revealed to have led the operation but did not log her presence in the station's Occurrence Book.
Five suspects were arrested in the morning for planning to disrupt the event but were later released on instructions from the County Police Commander. The released suspects' details were not fully recorded in the Occurrence Book, raising accountability concerns.
"The teargas incident caused panic as a senator was delivering his speech. The suspect who claimed to be a police officer from Athi River was taken to Ndaragwa Police Station but was not booked and was later released," added IPOA.
IPOA alongside the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) investigated the suspect's mysterious release and police handling of the case and concluded that the police failed to handle the arrest and processing of the suspect professionally.
The authority also found that despite intelligence on potential disruption, no Operation Order was prepared for public order management of the event.
The suspect police officer’s release without formal booking or investigations was also flagged by IPOA, highlighting negligence and possible abuse of authority by the police.
"On own-motion, IPOA conducted thorough investigations into police inaction, negligence, and misconduct and recommends that accountability measures be enforced for officers involved in the inappropriate handling of the incident," the authority recommended.
IPOA's statement came after Gachagua termed the events in Shamata as de-ja-vu given that action was yet to be taken against a criminal gang "very openly supported by the police" who attacked mourners at a Funeral Service he was attending in Limuru, despite the pictures of the attackers being splashed all over.
Gachagua however acknowledged the resilience and courage of everyone who attended the event for ensuring that despite the attack by the police the prayers continued to their focal conclusion.
The former second-in-command accused the NPS of allowing themselves to be used for political gain, given the negativity they have been drawing in recent weeks over illegal abductions and extrajudicial killings.
