Raphael Tuju has resurfaced at his Karen home today, ending a tense 48-hour disappearance that had the country on edge and triggered a high-stakes search by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Looking visibly shaken and frail, Tuju addressed the media this afternoon, flanked by top opposition leaders including Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa, and lawyer PLO Lumumba. His reappearance follows the discovery of his vehicle, found abandoned with hazard lights still flashing along Miotoni Lane on Saturday night.
The Great Escape
Tuju recounted a harrowing ordeal that began on Friday evening when he noticed a white Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series—unmarked and without registration plates—tailing his movements.
“It’s easy to know when you are being followed. You drive, you slow down—they slow down. You overtake—they try to overtake,” Tuju explained. The situation escalated on Saturday as he headed for a radio interview at Ramogi FM. According to Tuju, the pursuers “closed in” near the Karen roundabout, forcing him to take evasive action.
“I branched into Nandi Road, and they were unable to follow because of the road’s structure. That is how I lost them. I abandoned the car and sought refuge with a family in Kiambu who didn’t care about my tribe; they just saw me as a human being.”
A Storm of Controversy
The disappearance did not happen in a vacuum. Tuju has been embroiled in a bitter, multi-billion shilling legal battle with the East African Development Bank (EADB) over his Dari Business Park property. Just a week ago, on March 14, over 50 armed police officers staged a pre-dawn raid on the premises, leading to a forced eviction that Tuju termed “illegal and state-sponsored.”
While Tuju describes his disappearance as a desperate act of survival, the authorities have a different take. DCI Director Amin Mohamed held a press briefing shortly after Tuju’s reappearance, claiming that forensic analysis suggests the former CS was “physically present within his residence” the entire time, labeling the incident a “staged abduction.”
Political Solidarity
Despite the DCI’s claims, opposition figures have rallied behind Tuju, calling the incident a symptom of a broader “abduction squad” targeting critics of the current administration.
“My family is traumatized. My relatives are traumatized,” Tuju said. “I consider myself lucky because I know there are many Kenyans with unmarked graves.”
As of this evening, Tuju remains at his residence under the protection of his legal team and private security, while the DCI maintains that investigations into the “orchestrated” disappearance are ongoing.
