East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) lawmaker and former Kieni Member of Parliament Kanini Kega narrowly escaped an armed attack on the night of Monday, July 13, 2026, in Nyandarua County. The incident occurred at the close of high-stakes campaigns for the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, pushing political temperatures in the Mt. Kenya region to a boiling point.
While early social media reports incorrectly identified Kega as a former Kiambu representative, the veteran legislator famously represented Kieni constituency in Nyeri County before transitioning to his regional assembly role. Kega and his driver were forced to abandon their vehicle and flee on foot into nearby residential homesteads after unidentified gunmen trailed and targeted their convoy near the Kasuku area in Ol Joro Orok. The team had just left a major political rally at the Ol Kalou Arboretum.
The targeted vehicle, a black Toyota Land Cruiser, was left heavily damaged. Photos from the scene show a completely shattered rear windscreen, smashed side mirrors, and broken headlights. Prominent lawyer and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) ally Ndegwa Wahome publicly characterized the ambush as a state-sponsored assassination attempt. Wahome revealed that the campaign team had recovered a live bullet from the site of the attack, which has since been prepared for forensic hand-over to investigators.
This escalation comes just days after Kega formally aligned with the DCP, the rapidly growing political outfit led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The Ol Kalou by-election, triggered by the sudden passing of MP David Kiaraho, has effectively transformed into a proxy war between President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Gachagua’s DCP. The high-profile fight over the parliamentary seat has turned the constituency into a highly volatile political front line ahead of the 2027 general election.
Local security agencies have launched an active investigation into the incident, though official police communications have sought to downplay claims of a targeted assassination plot. Authorities are instead looking into localized skirmishes and vandalism reports between rival supporter factions. Undeterred by the ambush, Kega spoke outside the Ol Joro Orok Police Station on Tuesday, vowing to remain on the ground in Ol Kalou to safeguard the votes of DCP candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Ngotho ahead of Thursday’s high-stakes poll.
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