Chaos erupted at a funeral in Kirinyaga on Wednesday, April 9, after Mathira Member of Parliament (MP) Eric Wamumbi directed jibes at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The MP, while speaking at the funeral of Mathira Women Choir, Ann Wanjiru Mumbuchi fondly referred to as “Chairlady”. claimed that the former DP had abandoned her despite working for him.
He went on to call out Gachagua, asking him to come forward and provide evidence that he had helped the Wanjiru, before the crowd turned hostile against him.
The lawmaker was forced to cut short his speech after the microphone was snatched from him.
Chaos Erupts at Kirinyaga Funeral as Mathira MP Calls Out Gachagua
People in the background could be heard shouting at the MP to avoid politics and leave.
“Hakuna siasa aende kabisa,” loosely translated to “There is no politics, he should leave completely. some youth could be here saying.
“If someone works for you, you don’t just let them go. You’ve been helped by her children, but there’s no work for her. There is no power at her home, her children are jobless,” Wamumbi claimed.
“Let me finish and tell you, Father, I am from Mathira. Rigathi Gachagua hasn’t helped this lady; if he has, let him come forward and tell us. We, the people of Mathira, we are not begging for the stance Rigathi Gachagua.”
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Kirinyaga Women Representative Njeri Maina said, “We are very upset because we came here and were told by Father Paul that there would be no politics, and we, as politicians, agreed.”
“We spoke and finished, but when the Mathira MP took the microphone, he started talking politics.”
Police officers were deployed to defuse tension.
Another politician could be heard saying, “We were told at the funeral that people should not speak politics, and we as the people of Kirinyaga agreed to hold the funeral service in peace.”
“The one who came to insult people was Wamumbi, which is why the public got angry and told him to sit down.”
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Gachagua, while mourning the passing of Wanjitu on March 30, described her as a natural leader who will be most remembered for steering the 1,000-member Mathira Women Choir, which she led with passion and great commitment.
“She was a political confidant and has been a permanent feature in community leadership and mobilisation since the 1980s; she has left a gap in development politics and leadership that remains unmatched,” he said.
“Her energy and charisma will be missed by those who witnessed it firsthand and even those who remotely benefited from it. My deepest sympathies to her immediate family, friends, and the people of Mathira.”
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