Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu has confirmed that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua instructed him to relay a warning to Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata ahead of the Linda Mwananchi coalition’s tour of Ol Kalou and Nyahururu, citing intelligence about planned violence.

Speaking during a television interview on Monday, July 13, 2026, Nyutu said Gachagua personally contacted him and asked him to caution Kang’ata against attending the political event after receiving information that violence had allegedly been planned.

According to Nyutu, the former deputy president told him the alleged violence was intended to create conditions that would compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to cancel or postpone the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election scheduled for July 16.

“My party leader, His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua, called me and told me that he had received information that Governor Kang’ata and the Linda Mwananchi Brigade were planning to go and campaign for a candidate in Ol Kalou. He told me to inform my governor that, according to the intelligence he had, violence had been planned with the sole objective of giving the IEBC chair a reason to cancel the Ol Kalou by-election,” Nyutu said.

Nyutu said Gachagua instructed him to advise Kang’ata to stay away from the rally for his own safety, the safety of residents, and to safeguard the integrity of the by-election.

“He told me to tell my governor to avoid that particular rally because there was a possibility that violence would be perpetrated and could even result in loss of life. He also said he had deliberately stayed away from campaigning for the DCP candidate because of similar intelligence reports,” he added.

The Murang’a senator confirmed that he delivered the message to Kang’ata, who informed him he would consult before responding. However, Nyutu said the governor had not gotten back to him before the Nyahururu events unfolded.

Asked whether Gachagua had disclosed who was allegedly behind the planned violence, Nyutu admitted that he did not seek further details, saying his role was simply to deliver the message.

“I did not ask for more details because I was sent as an emissary. I connected what I had been told with the statement by the IEBC chair that violence could force the commission to stop the by-election,” he said.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has disclosed that he privately cautioned Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata against attending a political rally in Ol Kalou, hours before the governor’s driver was shot amid escalating electoral violence and later informed Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu after learning that the governor had not abandoned the plans for the visit.

Speaking in an interview with a local TV station on Sunday, July 12, 2026, Gachagua revealed that he had abruptly cancelled his own scheduled political engagement in Nyandarua County after receiving what he described as credible intelligence from police sources warning of planned disruptions.

“I received information from senior police officers that there was a plan to unleash violence during the rally. I decided to cancel my visit because I did not want to expose our supporters to danger. I also asked Senator Joe Nyutu to warn Governor Kang’ata not to attend because his life could be in danger,” Gachagua said.

The chaotic scenes that later unfolded during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Nyahururu have intensified political tensions ahead of the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.