Former Nyeri Town Member of Parliament (MP) Ngujiri Wambugu has condemned Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks on the repeat of the 2007-2008 post-election violence in 2027.

Speaking at a local TV station on Thursday, May 22, 2025, Wambugu criticised Gachagua, saying the remarks trigger post-election violence coming from a national leader.

“If I am a leader people voted for, then wake up and say this election was stolen. If IEBC mismanages this election, then I am going to trigger post-election violence. And that is my problem with that statement (Gachagua’s). It doesn’t matter how much he qualifies it,” he stated.

“You can’t, as a national leader, start saying if the election is stolen, there will be post-election violence, and the process has not started. You are actually setting the stage for that conversation to happen.”

The former Gachagua’s right-hand man also stated that the remarks are insensitive to the families affected by the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

“Kenyans who were affected by the 2007 post-election violence, when they listen to Gachagua, say there’s a possibility in whatever circumstances,” he added.

Further, he has called on politicians to borrow lessons from the happenings of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

“As we speak about the 2007-2008 post-election violence, we need to borrow lessons from there, including how not to be reckless,” he urged.

Gachagua’s remark

Gachagua, in an interview with YouTuber Oga Obinna on May 16, 2025, argued that if the election is “messed with” and President Ruto is ‘forced on Kenyans’, the country would witness more violence than recorded after the 2007 elections.

However, Gachagua, on May 19, 2025, clarified that his 2007 post-poll violence remark was not incitement but a caution to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi, Gachagua indicated that his remarks were meant to spur the electoral body to deliver credible 2027 elections.

“About my statement on the post-election violence, this was a precautionary statement and not incitement. It is based on historical facts and past electoral experiences of 1992, 1997, and 2007 that we must have a free and fair election in 2027,” he stated.

2007 post-election violence

The post-election violence, which left over 1,300 dead and some 350,000 displaced, began after the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) declared that the late president Mwai Kibaki had been re-elected.

The opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, rejected the results and claimed he had been rigged out of a win.

Individuals and groups allied to both the Party of National Unity (PNU) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), respectively, as well as the security services, were accused of committing crimes against humanity, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted six individuals.