Kindiki speaks in tongues and warns Gachagua in Mbeere North in a fiery Sunday church service that left congregants stunned and social media ablaze, as Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki slipped into fluent tongues before delivering a biblical broadside against his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua.
Addressing thousands at Siakago, the normally reserved DP suddenly raised his hands, attacking Rigathi on his rooftop car, saying, “Wewe Goliath umetesa watu siku nyingi, wachana na mimi!” (You Goliath, you have tormented people for a long time; leave me alone!).
The audience erupted. Women ululated, men shouted “Amen!”, and phones flashed as the moment was captured live. Kindiki, sweat glistening on his forehead, continued in a measured but pointed tone: “I am David, sent by God. The stone is already in the sling. Gachagua must stop bullying me and the people of Kenya.”
He accused the former DP of orchestrating a campaign of intimidation through proxies in the ongoing Mbeere North by-election, where Gachagua has openly backed Democratic Congress Party candidate Newton Karish against UDA’s official flagbearer.
The “Goliath” reference was unmistakable. Since his October impeachment, Gachagua has toured Mt Kenya and parts of Eastern, branding himself the victim of betrayal while vowing political revenge and kicking Dr Ruto out in 2027.
Kindiki, once his ally, has become target number one, with Gachagua repeatedly mocking him as “a professor who cannot win votes” and claiming the DP position was stolen through “state capture”.
Gachagua responded late Monday from Nyeri with characteristic bravado: “I am not Goliath; I am the people’s voice. Let him speak in tongues; we will speak in votes on December 5.”
“In Mt Kenya, speaking in tongues carries weight; it neutralises Gachagua’s narrative of betrayal with one of divine appointment.” As the Mbeere North campaigns enter the final stretch, Kindiki speaks in tongues and warns Gachagua that Mbeere North has transformed a sleepy by-election into a chest-thumping showdown.
Whether the stone finds its mark or Goliath strikes back, one thing is clear: in Kenya’s fusion of faith and politics, even tongues can become weapons, and the next rally just loaded the sling.
