DCI accuses Tuju of staging abduction as he resurfaces after two days

Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju. [File, Standard]

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director Mohamed Amin has accused former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju of faking his alleged abduction on Saturday, after Tuju resurfaced on Monday.

Detectives say Tuju remained at his Karen home throughout the period in question, despite distress calls from family members to police and a missing person report filed after his reported disappearance.

On Sunday, Tuju's son, Mano Tuju, told authorities that his father's whereabouts were unknown after his vehicle was found abandoned on Miotoni Lane in Karen, with his phones switched off and all contact with family severed.

Police, however, traced the phone's last known location to the family home in Karen before it went offline.

"DCI conclusively found that Raphael Tuju was within his residence throughout the period in question. Even at the precise time his mobile phone was switched off at 6.18 pm on March 21, 2026, he was at the residence," Amin said.

"When confronted with the reality that police were closing in on the truth and that his deception could no longer be sustained, Mr. Tuju chose to resurface, confirming investigators' earlier suspicion that this was a carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine abduction," he added.

Amin said the Karen residence was cordoned off immediately after police were notified of the owner's alleged disappearance, with officers monitoring movements in and out as they awaited a court-approved search warrant.

Detectives had on Sunday decried a lack of cooperation from the Tuju family despite their stated concern over his disappearance.

"Tuju's wife called the area OCS saying she could not allow officers into her premises. This raised suspicion. Why would a wife whose husband had been missing for hours fail to cooperate with the police?" Amin said.

Speaking after emerging, Tuju said he abandoned his car after noticing he was being followed by unknown individuals in an unmarked vehicle. 

He said a family in Kiambu took him in, where he remained until Monday afternoon when he addressed the media alongside his lawyers.

Police noted that the alleged abduction bore similarities to past incidents involving political figures or their associates who faked disappearances and blamed security agencies in what they described as bids to garner public sympathy.

Amin warned that such conduct could lead to prosecution, flagging a "worrying trend" of individuals knowingly feeding false information to authorities and the public.

"The National Police Service views this conduct not merely as an isolated act of falsehood, but as a deliberate attempt to mislead the Kenyan public, misdirect law enforcement resources, and undermine confidence in the very institutions tasked with protecting our citizens," he said.

Tuju was subsequently arrested and booked at Karen Police Station to record a statement on the circumstances surrounding his alleged abduction, including details of the family he claims sheltered him.