Former presidential aspirant Jimi Wanjigi was on Sunday, April 21, teargassed while holding a thanksgiving prayer at the Ndabibi Ranch in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
The billionaire was accompanied by local politicians and had visited the contested 5,000-acre land to hold a prayer rally with residents who were facing evacuation.
Police officers lobbed teargas at the congregated residents forcing them to scatter to safety.
Speaking minutes after police officers dispersed his event, Wanjigi accused President William Ruto of intimidating Ndabibi residents.
He further requested the police officers who had been deployed to disperse the gathering to obey the Kenyan constitution which allows for peaceful picketing.
Failing to reach a consensus with the police officers, Wanjigi was forced to prematurely call off the prayer meeting.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for Ruto to colonize and displace the people of Ndabibi from their homes and then send his men to disrupt their prayer sessions with tear gas,” he complained.
“Kenyans have every right to worship in peace and should not be subjected to such unjust treatment.”
In March 2024, Naivasha Member of Parliament Jayne Kihara announced that President William Ruto had legally bought the land.
Kihara further noted that there was no law that had barred the previous owner from selling the land to the Head of State.
Azimio Principal Martha Karua has challenged Kihara’s revelation noting that thousands of residents who had occupied the land for years would be displaced.
Karua warned that Kenya was staring at a humanitarian crisis and that President Ruto’s administration should seek to mitigate such.
