A KENYAN politician has been arrested for faking his own disappearance after publicly claiming he was forced into hiding.
Former Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle over an unsettled bank loan.
Just before his arrest, Tuju told local media that he feared for his life and had fled into hiding.
The former minister claimed told Citizen TV had been trailed by an unknown vehicle.
After he realised he was being followed, he managed to shake off his pursuer by branching onto the backroads.
He then ditched his car, which he told the outlet they would be looking for.
“My family is very traumatised… and I consider myself blessed because there are many Kenyans in unmarked graves,” he said.
Tuju referenced other Kenyan’s who had been abducted or killed as he explained his decision to go into hiding.
His subsequent disapearance sparked fears Tuju had been abducted.
Governor James Orengo alleged Tuju had been “kidnapped”.
“Let’s pray for Tuju because he has gone through a lot,” he said.
Cops launched a probe to investigate his reported disappearance and issued public appeals for information.
His family had said the ex-minister and his driver had gone missing after setting off to an evening radio interview on Saturday.
Police said his vehicle was found abandoned with its hazard lights on along a road in Karen, an upmarket suburb of the capital, Nairobi.
But when investigators attended Tuju’s home, they discovered he had been inside the residence the whole time.
Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin described the bizarre incident as a “carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine case of abduction”.
“The deliberate conduct by Raphael Tuju appears to be a calculated effort to deceive the public to generate unwarranted sympathy and to undermine the integrity of the National Police Service”, Amin told a press conference.
Adding that the police view “the provision of false information to authorities as a very, very serious offence”.
Tuju is currently entangled in a bitter court dispute with lenders seeking to recover debts of more than £11million tied to properties owned by his company, Dari Limited.
The former minister, who served in several government roles, has lodged several unsuccessful legal challenges in a bid to stop the auction of his properties.
He recently claimed that his property in Karen was raided by cops who threw out his staff and security guards to take over the premises.
Powerful officials were behind attempts to seize his property, he alleged.
The government has not commented on the allegations.
