NAIROBI,Kenya, Jul 7- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused the government and the ruling party of using the distribution of free LPG cylinders and government-branded mattresses to allegedly disenfranchise voters ahead of the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election .

📻 Breaking It Down

In a statement on Tuesday, Gachagua claimed reports from the constituency indicated that some residents were being asked to surrender their national identity cards in exchange for the subsidised cooking gas cylinders and mattresses.

He alleged the exercise was designed to prevent residents from participating in the upcoming by-election.

“This is a scheme to deny you the opportunity and right to vote on the by-elections of July 16, 2026. Please don’t surrender your identity card to anyone,” Gachagua said.

📌 What You Need to Know

The former deputy president urged residents to accept any government assistance being offered but insisted they should retain their identity cards.

“Let the government and UDA campaigners give you the gas cylinder and a GoK mattress. Let the regime deliver even speed boats, transformers, bullet trains, water tanks, milk and potato coolers and all that has not been delivered to Ol Kalou since 1963. But do not give away your voting right,” he said.

He further praised residents for allegedly resisting attempts to influence their voting decisions through gifts and cash, urging them to “stay firm.”

The allegations come as the Ol Kalou by-election has emerged as a fierce political contest between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), with senior government officials making frequent visits to campaign for the ruling party’s candidate.

However, former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria defended the LPG distribution programme, describing it as a fulfillment of residents’ development priorities rather than a political exercise.

“The people of Ol Kalou are going home smiling because what they asked for is finally being delivered,” Kuria said after visiting a distribution exercise in Mirangine.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya