Retired Lt. Col. Krzysztof “Rydzu” Radziwon, the former head of Karol Nawrocki’s security detail, has revealed new information about an incident that occurred in Ząbkowice Śląskie on 15 May 2025. He stressed that he does not believe the then-presidential candidate’s sudden deterioration in health was due to natural causes.
Attempt to poison President Nawrocki
The book Where Did Karol Nawrocki Come From?, published by Biały Kruk and based on a conversation between Professor Andrzej Nowak and Karol Nawrocki, recounts a dramatic incident from the presidential campaign. The then-candidate suddenly became unwell and subsequently lost consciousness.
The incident occurred after Nawrocki delivered a brief speech outside the town hall in Ząbkowice Śląskie. As he walked towards the coach that was to take him to the railway platform, he felt as though someone had suddenly “switched off his body.”
“I finished speaking and suddenly felt that something very bad was happening to me. I became weak all at once, as though I had taken a solid punch to the jaw,”
he recalled.
Despite the sudden deterioration in his condition, he tried not to show that anything was wrong. He greeted those gathered, spoke to people and answered journalists’ questions. At one point, he asked one of his aides for water and then instructed his staff to take him to the coach and lay him on the floor. Members of his security team reportedly described what happened moments later as scenes straight out of a horror film.
“They said it looked like a fountain and compared it to the film The Exorcist. I was kicking my legs, my body was thrashing around and I was vomiting uncontrollably,”
the president said.
The coach was stopped and its black curtains were drawn. Everyone except Nawrocki got out onto the street. He then lost consciousness. When he came to, his suit and the interior of the vehicle were “completely covered in vomit.”
Former security chief reveals new details about suspected poisoning
Retired Lt. Col. Krzysztof “Rydzu” Radziwon, the former head of Karol Nawrocki’s security detail, was asked about the shocking incident by the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita. He described the first few minutes after the then-presidential candidate’s health suddenly deteriorated.
“Several dozen seconds after the bus carrying the candidate set off, I received a message from a member of the security detail inside the vehicle saying that something was happening to Karol Nawrocki. By the time I reached the vehicle, it had already stopped. We rushed inside,”
he said.
According to Radziwon, those who were with Nawrocki at the time reported “a loss of motor control, convulsions and sudden vomiting.” His body’s reaction was so violent that the situation was considered extremely serious.
“The situation was developing rapidly in terms of the candidate’s physical reaction. It was far too serious to be dismissed in any way,” he stated.
By the time Radziwon entered the coach, Nawrocki had regained consciousness.
“The candidate was already sitting up. He was fully conscious and aware of what was happening,”
the former security chief said.
The security officers repeatedly urged Nawrocki to agree to be taken to hospital and undergo gastric lavage. Nawrocki, however, reportedly refused categorically. Radziwon said that he had been prepared for an emergency and knew exactly where the nearest hospital emergency department was located.
“We repeatedly insisted that he go to hospital for gastric lavage, but Karol Nawrocki categorically refused. In Ząbkowice Śląskie, I knew exactly where the emergency department was and had all the necessary phone numbers. Every location, on every day, had been prepared by me,”
he said.
Radziwon was also asked whether he believed Nawrocki could have been poisoned. The president’s former security chief admitted that he did not believe such a violent physical reaction could have had natural causes.