Wamuzi News KeA tense drama unfolded late Monday evening as heavily armed, plain-clothed officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations reportedly stormed the Limuru home of Peter Kawanjiru, a close ally of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, in a brazen nighttime raid.
According to family members, more than ten unmarked vehicles — later identified as belonging to the DCI Kiambu Road unit — surrounded the compound at around 8:30 pm. Eyewitnesses describe a sudden blackout, deafening metal rods bashing at doors, and at least one shot fired into the air to scatter onlookers.
“They said they were from DCI Kiambu Road and were looking for someone named Kawanjiru. When we refused to open, they started hitting the door with metal rods,” a shaken relative recounted. The raid triggered panic across the neighborhood, with neighbors reporting cries for help and chaos that lasted nearly four hours .
Since the operation, Peter Kawanjiru, the youth coordinator for the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), has vanished without a trace. His family’s frantic visits to police stations in both Kiambu and Nairobi have yielded zero confirmation of his arrest or whereabouts.
Kawanjiru, known for his vocal criticism of the Kenya Kwanza administration and his role in the “Wan tam” protest movement, faces unconfirmed allegations of funding violence and vandalism linked to the June 25 youth-led memorial protest.
This disappearance marks the latest in a string of abductions targeting Gachagua-backed figures. Similar incidents involving Juja MP George Koimburi and DCP youth leader Wanjiku Thiga have escalated fears that security agencies are being used for political intimidation.
Civil society groups are sounding the alarm. Opposition legislators and legal experts are demanding an immediate investigation and transparency, arguing that such enforced disappearances violate constitutional rights and threaten Kenya’s democratic norms.
In response, DCI has neither confirmed Kawanjiru’s detention nor released a statement explaining the nighttime operation — raising suspicions of clandestine enforcement methods. Gachagua himself has refrained from direct comment on this specific incident, though he has previously denounced a surge in politically motivated abductions targeting his affiliate.
As the nation reels from this latest disappearance, democratic watchdogs warn that unchecked state power is endangering civil liberties. With elections looming, allegations of disappearances and intimidation risk polarizing the country and eroding trust in public institutions.
Key questions now at the heart of public debate: who ordered the raid, where is Peter Kawanjiru being held, and will justice prevail before political tensions spiral further?
