By Fuad Abdirahman
The abduction saga surrounding Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi’s son, Leslie, has laid bare the privileges of the powerful.
In his charged statement, which he recorded with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Tuesday, January 14, and which he sensationally circulated on social media, he said that he reached out to the top leaders of various security apparatus – from the CS and PS for Interior to the head of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit – and spoke with most of them, and hours later when they had not come through for him, he drove to State House for direct intervention from President William Ruto.
According to him, the President called the head of the National Intelligence Service, who acknowledged that Leslie was being held by his officers and who pledged to release him within an hour.
This high-level access is a privilege far removed from the reach of parents of the other abducted youths, who did not know where to turn to for help.
Mr Muturi is, however, yet to explain why he chose to be silent about the incident and only decided to speak about it seven months after his son was released. It is not clear either why he decided to make the grave accusations against the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Noordin Haji.
Suffice it to say that he followed a trend that mirrored that of impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who, on his way out of government, blamed some of the ills facing the government on Mr Haji.
Mr Muturi’s statement, in my view, suggests a carefully crafted narrative. It shifts blame to NIS in what hints at ulterior motives.
His three-page statement points to a deeper agenda — perhaps an attempt to bring down Mr Haji in a classic “Anguka Nayo” move, rather than a genuine call for justice.
The issue of President Ruto’s phone “crushing” due to overload of messages forms part of what makes the statement suspicious, given that current phones have large storage capacity and powerful processors, which make it near impossible for a phone to crush due to message overload.
Again, his claim that he overheard the President’s conversation with Mr Haji from the lobby raises serious doubts and remains unexplained as it was not clear where the President was when he was speaking to Mr Haji.
The timing of Mr Muturi’s statement also raises more questions than answers. One pressing question is why did he take a sudden anti-abduction stance now and not before? Could his lamenting have been prompted by his looming exit from the Cabinet?
In my view, his decision to speak out now suggests a strategic move as he attempts to reshape his political future and control the narrative at a critical moment. While it is unfortunate that abductions exist, there is need for leaders to seek genuine solutions.
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