NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is taking his battle against the government to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking at The Guardian Angels Tetu Catholic Church in Nyeri, Gachagua instructed his allies—led by Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia—to hire top legal minds to formally petition the Hague-based court over alleged state-sponsored abductions.
Beyond the disappearances, Gachagua sounded the alarm over the resurgence of criminal gangs in the Mount Kenya region, claiming they are being reactivated by government operatives to spread terror.
According to Gachagua, violent gangs that had terrorized Central Kenya in the past have resurfaced, emboldened by alleged state protection.
He recalled a gruesome 2009 massacre in Nyeri, where gang members butchered 29 villagers and brutalized women, only for their reign of terror to be ended by then-Interior Minister John Michuki.
Now, he claims, these groups are back—extorting residents, spreading fear, and operating unchecked.
Instead of cracking down on them, Gachagua alleges the National Police Service (NPS) is looking the other way, failing in its duty to protect citizens from escalating crime, including the menace of illicit brews.
But Gachagua’s sharpest criticism was reserved for the mysterious abductions plaguing the country. He expressed sympathy for grieving families, whose loved ones have been kidnapped and later found dead, dumped in remote locations.
“The government can’t keep dismissing this as fiction,” Gachagua insisted. “These young men did not abduct themselves and later kill themselves.”
His remarks mirror growing concerns over enforced disappearances, a trend that has fueled fears of extra-judicial operations targeting government critics.
By pushing for an ICC intervention, Gachagua is elevating the stakes in his feud with the Ruto administration. His call for an international probe suggests that he believes local mechanisms—including Kenya’s judicial system—cannot deliver justice.
While the government is yet to officially respond, Gachagua’s latest attack adds to the political turmoil surrounding state security operations.
Whether this leads to real investigations or remains a high-stakes political gambit is something Kenyans—and now, potentially, the ICC—will be watching closely.
