A Missing Voice: Widow’s Omission Sparks Tension at Kiaraho Funeral

Jackie Kiaraho, widow of the late Ol Kalou MP David Njuguna Kiaraho, conspicuously omitted former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from her acknowledgments during a high-profile memorial service at Ol Kalou Stadium on Wednesday. The event, attended by President William Ruto and other senior leaders, was marked by tight security and underlying political tension following Gachagua’s public vow to attend despite warnings from government allies.

The public memorial in Nyandarua County served as the primary send-off for the three-term legislator, who passed away on March 29, 2026, while receiving treatment. During her moving tribute to her husband of several decades, Jackie Kiaraho expressed profound gratitude to President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto for their unwavering support during the lawmaker’s prolonged illness. She also specifically thanked current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki for his visit to the family’s Runda residence.

However, the widow made no mention of Rigathi Gachagua, who has recently positioned himself as a critic of the current administration. Gachagua, who arrived with a significant entourage including members of the Democratic Congress Party (DCP), sat among the mourners but was not officially invited to address the congregation by the event’s organizers.

“I want to thank the president and his government for standing with us when David was in India and for the dignified return of his remains,” Jackie Kiaraho stated during her address. “Your presence here today at Ol Kalou Stadium honors the man David was—a humble architect of peace.”

The silence regarding Gachagua follows a week of heated rhetoric, during which National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah reportedly warned against “political scavenging” at the funeral. While Gachagua’s supporters had characterized Nyandarua as his “political bedroom,” the funeral program remained strictly controlled by a nine-member committee chaired by Kinangop MP Kwenya Thuku.

The late MP, an architect by profession first elected in 2013, was widely respected for his “Kazi Kwanza, Siasa Baadaye” (Work First, Politics Later) philosophy. Following the service, his body is scheduled for a final requiem mass at St. Andrew’s PCEA in Nairobi on Thursday before interment at his Tigoni farm on Friday, April 10.