Gikari’s political journey: controversies, confrontations and the race for senate
David Gikaria during the International Day of Peace celebrations held at Nyayo garden.
If you've stayed in Nakuru long enough, you'd know that David Gikaria has never been the kind of politician who keeps a low profile when confronted with a political or community dispute.
For more than two decades, Nakuru Town East MP has cultivated a political identity built around confrontation.
The MP has often presented himself as the politician who will step in when ordinary residents are locked in disputes with authorities, whether over hawkers, land or other local grievances.
It is a style that has earned him loyal supporters, particularly among young people and small traders.
But it has also repeatedly put him on the wrong side of the law.
As Gikaria prepares to make the jump from representing Nakuru Town East to seeking the Nakuru Senate seat in 2027, a look at his political journey provides a record of the controversies and confrontations that have marked his years in public life.
As Gikaria seeks the Senate seat, a look at his political journey provides a record of the controversies and confrontations that have marked his years in public life.
His political record stretches back to his days as a councilors and later mayor of Nakuru before he entered Parliament in 2013. Parliament records show that he has represented Nakuru Town East since then.
One of the episodes that has come to define his combative politics dates back to 2015, when Gikaria opposed the relocation of hawkers from Nakuru's center.
His opposition brought him into a confrontation with police and county officials as he backed the traders resisting the relocation. Several county enforcement officers were injured during the scuffle, according to contemporary reporting.
That same year, Gikaria also led an anti-illicit brew campaign in Nakuru and was subsequently charged over dumping liquor bottles and boxes at two locations in the town.
In 2016, he was charged with malicious damage to private property valued at Sh13 million alongside four other people, including activist Boniface Mwangi, in a case reported at the time.
In January 2019, Gikaria was arrested and charged with eight counts relating to alleged land fraud. The charges included allegations of forging land documents and grabbing parcels of land in Nakuru County in transactions dating back to 2007.
He was released on a Sh3 million personal bond.
The cases form part of a public record that has followed Gikaria through his political career.
But there is another side to that record, his ability to cultivate a personal following among ordinary residents.
In Nakuru Town, Gikaria has particularly drawn support from young people and women.
At public events, he has often been surrounded by large groups of young people, while some traders have credited him with standing up for their interests.
That connection has been central to the political identity he has built around being accessible and willing to confront authorities.
It was also visible in the 2024 Finance Bill controversy.
Gikaria voted in favour of the Finance Bill 2024 before nationwide protests forced President William Ruto to withdraw the legislation.
In what could be interpreted as public mockery and him trying to save face, he later publicly apologized to his constituents, wearing a T-shirt carrying a message asking for forgiveness.
Now, as he seeks the Senate seat, that political journey provides a record of both confrontation and political resilience.
“As for Gikaria, his record as MP could haunt him. Voters have long memories, and any past disappointments will be used against leaders seeking new offices. That could open the door for fresh faces,” Eng. Vicor Ngatia, a political analyst noted in a previous interview.
For Gikaria, is Senate bid will be another chapter in a political career that has combined confrontation, grassroots mobilization and political survival.