Democracy for the Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua has expressed confidence that the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election has remained peaceful.

He urged registered voters still at home to turn out in large numbers.

Gachagua, who spoke to Muthoni wa Kirumba of Kameme FM through a phone call on Thursday, July 16, 2026, praised residents, particularly young people, for mobilising voters from the early hours of the morning.

“I am happy because our people in Ol Kalou have stood tall. The whistle was blown at 3:00 am by our young people, and by 6:00 am everyone was out,” Gachagua said.

He said young voters cast their ballots early before assisting elderly residents to reach their respective polling stations.

“The youths voted and thereafter helped the elderly to go and vote. I am, however, learning that the queues have started reducing. There has been peace and people have voted,” he said.

Reports from polling centres showed that voters began arriving as early as 5:00 am, with queues forming at several stations before voting started.

Gachagua targets 90 per cent turnout

Gachagua claimed that voter turnout had reached approximately 40 per cent at the time of the interview. However, the figure had not been announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

He called on residents who had not voted to leave their homes and participate in the exercise, saying the voting process was taking only a few minutes.

“I want to rally everyone who has not voted and is still at home to come out and vote. They should go and vote because this by-election is the community against cursed money,” he said.

“So far, they have voted 40 per cent, but I want them to vote up to 90 per cent. It is taking just three minutes and there is a lot of peace.”

A total of 73,480 registered voters are eligible to participate in the by-election. The IEBC established 144 polling stations across Rurii, Kanjuiri Ridge, Karau, Kaimbaga and Mirangine wards.

The electoral commission cleared nine candidates to contest the parliamentary seat, although the race has largely been viewed as a contest between DCP candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho, UDA’s Samuel Muchina Nyagah and Jubilee Party candidate Wilson Kigwa.

Gachagua praises uniformed police officers

The former deputy president also praised uniformed police officers deployed to provide security during the election, saying they had conducted themselves professionally.

“The police officers in uniform have done a commendable job. They have been instructed not to shoot anyone. The worst they can do is shoot in the air, so nobody should fear the police officers in uniform,” he said.

However, Gachagua raised concerns about people he described as plain-clothes police officers, whom he claimed were associated with Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina and Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi.

“Apart from the police officers aligned with Betty Maina and Eric Wamumbi, who are not in uniform, our youths are in high gear,” he claimed.

Gachagua did not provide evidence supporting the accusations, which had not been independently verified. Maina and Wamumbi had also not publicly responded to the remarks by the time of publication.

The by-election was triggered by the death of former Ol Kalou MP David Njuguna Kiaraho on March 29, 2026. Kiaraho had represented the constituency since 2013 and retained the seat during the 2017 and 2022 General Elections.