Chaos erupted at Kenol town in Murang’a County on Sunday as pro-Tangatanga and pro-Kieleweke groups clashed near a church that Deputy President William Ruto is expected to attend.
Two buses with youths landed in the town in the morning and proceeded to AIPCA church and started throwing stones into its compound.
This in turn angered Kenol residents who came out in large numbers and repulsed the youths towards the Kenol-Thika highway where they eventually cornered and beat them up.
Some of the youths who had thrown stones said they had been mobilised by politicians with the promise of receiving Sh1,000 pay.
One of the youths was beaten until he was unconscious and was the taken away from the scene by police with some saying he was dead.
However, Maragua OCPD Keter declined to confirm the status of the man, saying that he would do so later.
As pro-Ruto MPs continued to trickle in one by one, the police continued to throw teargas canisters at the people gathering outside the church while a few were thrown inside the church, forcing the service to stop.
At a point, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro came out to address the media, saying the county commander of police Josphat Kinyua had been informed of the event and wondered why teargas canisters were being thrown inside the church.
A few minutes later, a teargas canister was thrown towards the MP, causing journalists to scamper for safety.
When Ruto eventually arrived at the church, sanity had been restored and the service went on with heavy police presence manning the streets outside the church and pro-Ruto youths chanting his praises outside the church.