Political leaders allied to the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) were once again met with brute force from police officers in Gilgil town today, as authorities used teargas and live bullets to disperse a public gathering.

The confrontation resulted in one person being shot in the leg, highlighting the rising tensions between the government and its political critics.

Eyewitnesses reported a chaotic scene as police officers lobbed teargas canisters and fired live ammunition to scatter the crowd that had assembled to listen to their leaders.

Panic ensued as locals, fearing for their safety, scrambled to escape the fracas. One individual was critically injured after being shot in the leg, adding a human cost to the political crackdown.

Earlier in the day, the leaders had taken a strong stance against the Kenya Kwanza administration, criticizing it for what they termed as the collapse of the economy and education systems.

They vowed to rally support to vote the current government out in the next general election.

Following the incident, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, a key figure within the DCP, took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to vehemently condemn the police action.

He accused the government of using law enforcement to intimidate and harass his supporters. “Once again, our team’s public participation meeting was rudely disrupted by the police, following clear instructions from Mr. William Ruto and his protege Kipchumba Murkomen,” Gachagua wrote, directly implicating top government officials in the incident.

Gachagua, in his statement, remained defiant, vowing not to be intimidated and urging his supporters not to give up.

“Despite these cowardly actions by this failed regime, our resilience and commitment have shone brighter than ever. To our team, it is always darkest before dawn. We will rewrite the wrongs and restore sanity to governance,” he added, signaling a continued political battle against the current administration.