Kenyan minister Justin Muturi believes intelligence agency behind his son’s kidnapping

A Kenyan government minister has alleged that the country’s national intelligence agency was behind the abduction of his son last year, as criticism of the rise in kidnapping cases continues.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi said President William Ruto needed a call to release his son from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Muturi is the first cabinet member to publicly criticize the government’s handling of Kenya’s kidnapping spree.

In a statement to the police’s crime investigation unit on Tuesday, Muturi recounted in detail how her son, Leslie, was abducted on June 22 last year.

Mr Ruto and the intelligence agency have declined to comment on his allegations.

At least 80 people have been kidnapped in the past six months, including the minister’s son, according to a state-funded rights group.

The wave of kidnappings started last June after protests against the tax increase, and has continued ever since.

Some of the hostages have been released due to public pressure.

Earlier this week, the minister told reporters that he had received no response about his son’s abduction, despite contacting senior security officials.

Muturi said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later asked him to record a statement with them, saying the matter was still under investigation.

In his statement to the DCI, Muturi recalled that he called the Inspector General of Police, the Home Minister, the head of the DCI, the head of the intelligence agency and other senior officials in a desperate search for his son, but he added that they were all there. unable to help

He said he also messaged Ruto, but later decided to visit his official residence to raise the matter directly with him.

“I then narrated the ordeal (to the president) including my dealings with senior government officials who could not help me. I believed the NIS was holding my son,” Muturi said in the statement.

He said the president made a joke about it, then called the head of the intelligence agency, who promised to release his son within an hour.

“I heard the president asking (NIS director) Noordin Haji if he was holding my son. (He) confirmed that he was holding my son and the president ordered him to release Leslie immediately,” added Muturi.

There have been calls for some politicians allied to the Muturi government to resign for publicly criticizing the government they serve.

Foreign nationals have also been kidnapped, including prominent Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai, who said she was kidnapped by gunmen on Monday and released several hours later.

Last year, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was allegedly kidnapped by Ugandan security officials in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and taken across the border to be tried by a court-martial.

Publicly mentioning Muturi Ruto’s name in connection with the kidnappings is a challenge for the president and is seen as contrary to the principle of collective responsibility in government.

It has also fueled speculation about the fallout in government, with other ministers and officials often denying that the abductions are being carried out by the state.

Among the citizens, the president said towards the end of last year that “we will stop the kidnappings”, while advising parents to instill good values ​​in their children.

In addition, he warned young people not to use social networks to respect their leaders, due to the constant criticism of the government online.