Babu Owino's wife pleads with government to release him

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino’s wife Fridah Ongili has pleaded with the government to release her husband who she says is being held at Mwea Police Station illegally.

In a video recorded on July 19, Ongili says that Owino was arrested at the airport where he had just landed.

“Yesterday at around 11 pm he called me and said that he just landed at the airport and is being arrested by the DCI,” says Ongili.

“He said he will call me but he hasn’t been able to because his phone has been off since then.”

Without any knowledge of where the husband could have been held custody, she walked from one station to another in search of him.

She went to DCI headquarters, the airport’s police station, Muthaiga, Gigiri, Kileleshwa and Embakasi without making progress in the search.

After all the running around, she was given information that he was in Wang’uru police station in Mwea, but she was not allowed to see him.

“He is definitely here because I went to the gate and started pleading with one of the officers to let me give my husband food and medicine since he wasn’t feeling well but they instead denied me entry and dragged me out,” she added.

Ongili says that her husband is likely to be transferred since his location is now known. She has pleaded with the government to release him and requested the opposition to aid in Owino’s freedom.

“My husband has done nothing else but fight for the rights of Kenyans and there is absolutely nothing that he did to warrant the arrest.”

Owino is among a number of people arrested yesterday due to the protests. Maurice Ogeta, Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s bodyguard, suffered the same fate yesterday. He has since been released.

As tweeted by Phillip Etale, ODM’s Director of Communications, unknown people suspected to be officers from the DCI stopped Ogeta on his way to work, bundled him into the boot of his car and drove off to an unknown destination.

Etale also added that Communications Director at the Raila Odinga’s Secretariate Dennis Onyango was arrested after officers raided his house and ransacked it.

Additionally, Etale said that Makadara MP George Aladwa was arrested when jetting into Nairobi from Mombasa where he had attended a meeting with Kenya Rural Roads Authority.