Tuju fires back: Former CS rejects DCI's self-abduction narrative, names DCI Director as "person of interest"

Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju has formally rejected the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' conclusion that he staged his own disappearance last month, calling the claim baseless and turning the scrutiny back onto DCI Director Amin Mohammed in a signed letter dated April 3, 2026.

The standoff is the latest chapter in a saga that began well before Tuju went missing.

Tuju has been locked in a prolonged legal dispute with the East African Development Bank (EADB) over a loan taken in 2015 through his company, Dari Limited, to develop the Dari Business Park in Karen.

The debt, originally around Sh2.1 billion, has ballooned to over Sh4 billion with interest and penalties.

Multiple courts have declined to block the auction of the property, and on March 14, 2026, more than 50 police officers raided the premises at 3:00 a.m. and cleared it out.

It was in this backdrop that events escalated on the evening of March 21, 2026.

Tuju says he was driving himself toward Karen roundabout for a scheduled radio appearance on Ramogi FM when he noticed a Toyota Land Cruiser without number plates trailing him.

He said he had previously filed a report at Karen Police Station about the same vehicle.

He says he managed to lose the tail by branching into Nandi Road, abandoned his car on Miotoni Lane with hazard lights on, and took shelter with a family at the Nairobi-Kiambu boundary.

His phone was switched off and he did not return home.

On March 22, his son Mano Tuju and a lawyer reported him missing at Karen Police Station. His abandoned vehicle was found that morning.

DCI Director Amin Mohammed held a press briefing on March 23 and said investigators had established, through mobile phone tracking, CCTV footage, and forensic analysis, that Tuju never left his Karen residence during the period in question.

Mohammed said Tuju's phone was last active at 6:18 p.m. on March 21, at a location consistent with his home.

On April 3, the DCI issued an updated report detailing CCTV footage of coordinated vehicle movements near Miotoni Lane.

Investigators said three individuals exited a vehicle registered to Tuju and entered a white Toyota Probox registered to one Mwanaidi Chemeli Saidi at 7:18 p.m., with the Probox later captured heading toward Tuju's residence.

The DCI named four persons of interest: Samson Okiya Sirako, Karen Wangare, Khadijah Chepkosia Saidi, and Zipporah Wambui.

Tuju resurfaced on March 23 and held a press conference at his Karen home, accompanied by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, and former Attorney General Justin Muturi.

He then proceeded to Karen Police Station to record a statement.

He was arrested there.

His lawyers said officers bundled him into a Subaru without entering his arrest into the occurrence book, and that the handling aggravated a pre-existing back injury.

He was subsequently admitted to Karen Hospital under police guard.

He faces potential charges under Section 129 of the Penal Code, which criminalises giving false information to a public officer.

In his April 3 letter, addressed to the Kenyan public, Tuju confirmed the Probox KDN 673L identified by DCI belongs to his sister-in-law, Ms Chemeli, and is used as part of his personal security arrangements, not as part of any scheme.

He said he could not reveal his full security protocols to an institution that, in his words, has already acted against him.

He pointed to two gray Subarus with plates KBZ 296X and KCA 509Y, which he says were positioned at the Kerarapon Shell Petrol Station and had trailed him on two separate occasions.

The petrol station, he noted, belongs to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.

He also said his wife, Luiza Chepkesio, was on a Kenya Airways flight from Cape Town, South Africa, at the time DCI claimed she was part of a plot inside the country, and challenged investigators to verify this through immigration records at JKIA.

Tuju named DCI Director Amin Mohammed as a 'person of interest,' alleging he has credible information about Mohammed's relationship with a Fred Ojiambo, who he says has pending criminal matters linked to the EADB.

He claimed Mohammed has, for three months, frustrated attempts to bring Ojiambo to account over matters Tuju says he personally reported to the DCI Director.

He referenced the case of Cyrus Jirongo, a former politician whose disappearance and death have remained a source of public concern, and challenged the DCI to pursue his own case with the same urgency.

He also called on the DCI to stop what he described as threats and intimidation directed at journalists, citing Article 34 of the Constitution, which guarantees press freedom.

"At least for me the bottom line is that I appeared from legitimate hiding and I have lived to tell the story," Tuju wrote.

The DCI has said investigations remain ongoing and warned that attempts to issue diversionary statements will not obstruct the course of justice.

No charges have been formally filed.