Unexpected touchdown: How Gachagua switched flights before departure

Details pieced together by The Star indicate that Gachagua made a last-minute change of travel plans, reportedly to throw off any attempts to intercept him upon landing.

There had been reports that plans were underway to arrest him once he set foot in the country over the controversial statements he made abroad.

Earlier communication suggested that the former DP would arrive aboard a direct Kenya Airways (KQ) flight from the US, with his landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) expected around midday.

"We call on the people of Kenya to show up at JKIA at 8 a.m. to receive our leader, Rigathi Gachagua. He is going to land at noon,” Malala said in earlier statement.

However, that information was later altered, fueling confusion among his supporters and political allies who had begun streaming to the airport as early as 9am.

Instead, Gachagua flew through Ethiopia from the US using an Ethiopian Airlines having left the US Wednesday morning.

He then boarded an Ethiopian Airlines flight ETH318, a Boeing 777-360 (ER).

The aircraft departed Bole International Airport at 11:43am and later touched down at JKIA at 1:10pm, catching many by surprise.

Despite the confusion, a group of loyal supporters was on hand to receive him, breaking into cheers and waving placards as he walked out of the international arrivals terminal.

He was accompanied by his wife, Pastor Dorcas Gachagua who is also a key figure in the DCP’s community engagement efforts.

Party loyalists, youth groups, and allied politicians sang songs, waved banners, and chanted slogans welcoming the former DP back home.

Dressed in DCP regalia, many described his return as the "start of a new chapter" for Kenyan politics.

The mood at the airport was festive but tense, as government security agencies had earlier issued alerts and deployed additional personnel amid reports of planned mass mobilisations.

There was heavy presence of GSU at the exit with water cannons strategically parked.

While in the US, Gachagua toured several states, including New Jersey, Texas, and California, where he opened DCP offices and held town halls with Kenyan expatriates.

He called on the diaspora to invest back home and support his party’s push for economic reform and national unity.

A planned rally at Kamukunji Grounds failed to take place.