Deputy President William Ruto's running mate Rigathi Gachagua met an unexpected cold reception in Nyeri County on Tuesday while on a Kenya Kwanza alliance campaign in the area.

Gachagua, who led a section of other Kenya Kwanza leaders from the Mount Kenya region, went to Nyeri County to sell their bottom-up political model and drum up support for their bid for the presidency ahead of the August elections when they met what they least expected.

While addressing residents of the county during a roadside rally, members of the public who seemed charged jeered and heckled Gachagua and his team, prompting the politicians to shorten their speeches.

Video footage of the incident has since gone viral across social media platforms, eliciting mixed reactions from Kenyans.

One section of Kenyans alleged the crowd was hired to disrupt the Kenya Kwanza Alliance political gatherings.

The other section, predominantly Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition supporters, said the faction they support had nothing to do with the incident and said the irate crowd was rather displeased with the lies Kenya Kwanza leaders have been peddling.

However, Gachagua and the other Kenya Kwanza leaders have remained tight-lipped and are yet to issue any statement about the incident.

Gachagua has been leading Deputy President William Ruto’s campaigns in the Mt Kenya region.