‘Wamenichapia hapa’: Kikuyu YouTubers narrate ordeal after masked officers pursue them in Ol Kalou
By Steve Ireri, July 16, 2026Kikuyu YouTubers covering the tense Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election were forced to flee into a nearby maize plantation on Thursday, July 16, 2026, after chaos erupted outside Mumbi Comprehensive School, one of the constituency’s polling stations, where they had been livestreaming the voting exercise.
Videos shared online captured dramatic moments as YouTuber Chuma Moto sprinted from the polling station entrance before diving into a maize plantation, where he lay flat on the ground while listening carefully to determine whether the masked officers had followed him.
“So we have been attacked here in Ol Kalou,” Chuma Moto said while speaking in hushed tones from his hiding place.
His facial expressions reflected a man overwhelmed by fear as he repeatedly paused mid-sentence to listen for movement before continuing with his livestream.
“I tell you, for real, things are bad here. It shows the government has made a vow to rig these polls. Ressie, have they taken your phone?” he asked before cautiously emerging from the plantation to look for his fellow YouTuber.
Moments later, he found fellow content creator Ressie, visibly shaken after the confrontation.
Ressie revealed that he had lost nearly all the equipment he had carried to cover the by-election.
“They have taken everything that I had. I had three phones, all my cameras and even my power bank,” he said.
The YouTuber then showed where he said he had been struck during the confrontation.
“Let me ask those women whether they saw the number plates of those cars. Have they hidden the plates? They have caned me while here. Wamenichapia hapa,” he said.
Chuma Moto explained that he had been unable to identify the vehicles involved because he had immediately taken cover as the confrontation unfolded.
“I could not have been able to see the number plates because I was lying flat. Guys, this is Ol Kalou,” he said.
He went on to recount what had happened moments earlier outside the polling station.
“We were at Mumbi Comprehensive School. Hooded people first caned us while we were inside the car, and they broke all my car’s windows. I know they were targeting us because they saw us recording. This Ressie is the guy from the popular Mururi TV. Now let us go back and see. Even the media cannot allow it,” he said.
Separate videos circulating on social media also showed extensively damaged vehicles believed to belong to the YouTubers, including Chuma Moto’s car, whose windows had been completely smashed during the incident.
The incident came as journalists, digital content creators and residents continued documenting developments from various polling stations as thousands of voters turned out to elect a successor to the late MP David Kiaraho.