Vipingo Industries registered car /HANDOUT
Consumer goods manufacturer–Vipingo Industries Limited has denied claims linking it to a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado captured in viral videos during the Ol Kalou Parliamentary by-election.
The company now says it neither owns the vehicle nor has any connection with the armed men seen in the footage.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the company dismissed reports suggesting that the sport utility vehicle belonged to it.
This is after media reports associated its registration details with a vehicle filmed during the violence that disrupted the July 16 mini-poll.
The company clarified that although it owns a motor vehicle bearing the same registration number cited in the reports, its vehicle is a Toyota Probox and not the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado shown in the widely circulated videos.
“We categorically deny this claim. While Vipingo Industries owns a motor vehicle with the same registration number, our vehicle is a Toyota Probox and not the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado as shown in the video, and we have no connection whatsoever to it or the reported activities and individuals in question,” the company said.
The videos, which spread rapidly on social media, appeared to show hooded and armed men travelling in several SUVs in parts of Ol Kalou.
The footage sparked widespread public concern, with questions raised over the identity of the occupants and the ownership of the vehicles.
Vipingo Industries maintained that it is a law-abiding Kenyan company engaged solely in legitimate business activities and had no involvement in the incidents reported during the by-election.
“Vipingo Industries is a responsible Kenyan company committed purely to business activities, ethical practices and transparency, all within the law,” the statement said.
The company added that it had formally reported the matter to the police after the allegations surfaced.
It said the report was recorded under Occurrence Book (OB) No. 14/18/7/2026 and pledged to cooperate fully with investigators if required.
“We remain committed to transparency and will cooperate with
any relevant authorities if required,” the company said.
The controversy emerged after disturbances marred the Ol Kalou by-election, with residents reporting incidents of intimidation, teargas and violence as voting took place.
Images of masked men carrying weapons and moving through the constituency in SUVs fuelled calls for investigations into those responsible.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has since directed security agencies to investigate the incidents and identify those behind the violence.
“Let me assure Kenyans that the Inspector General of Police deployed enough officers to provide security in Ol Kalou. These allegations of some other persons causing havoc in Ol Kalou must be investigated thoroughly, and anyone found culpable must be arrested regardless of what they were doing and who deployed them to Ol Kalou,” Murkomen said.
He added that the government would not shield anyone found responsible.
