Kenya’s Raphael Tuju has said he sought shelter for safety reasons after noticing he was being followed
Former Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju, who was reported missing over the weekend, has reappeared, saying he went into hiding after being followed by unidentified vehicles.
Tuju told reporters on Monday that he was pursued near the Karen roundabout in the capital, Nairobi, by a car without number plates while on his way to an evening radio interview on Saturday. He said it closed in on him before he diverted onto side roads and evaded it.
“I got very worried… I abandoned the vehicle there. I want to thank Kenyans, but I also especially want to thank a family in Kiambu that were able to give me shelter,” he said at a press conference.
Tuju said he had previously reported concerns to Karen Police Station on Friday after noticing he was being followed by the “same vehicle, a Land Cruiser.”
Kenyan police had earlier announced an investigation into the former minister’s disappearance after his family filed a missing person report on Sunday.
According to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), his car was found abandoned on Miotoni Lane in the Karen area with its hazard lights on.
Raphael Tuju: I noticed I was being followed before and reported it to the authorities. On Saturday as I was going for an interview at Ramogi FM, and noticed the same vehicle from before following me, only this time without plate numbers. Fortunately, I know Karen well and… pic.twitter.com/fNJSYcjStD
Police said they had been unable to reach him as his phone was switched off.
“An attempt by investigators to access… Tuju’s residence along Mwitu Drive was denied by the family,” the DCI said in a statement.
Tuju has been embroiled in a long-running legal dispute with the East African Development Bank over a loan tied to a property development in Nairobi, which has led to enforcement actions including eviction. He served as Kenya’s foreign minister between 2005 and 2007.
The reported disappearance came days after Tuju accused police officers of raiding his Karen property in the early hours of March 14 and forcibly evicting him.
He later wrote to Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, describing what he called an “unlawful and chaotic police occupation” of his business premises and claiming officers operated without presenting a court order.
Tuju’s legal team has also alleged irregularities in court proceedings linked to his case, after an application he filed at the Court of Appeal reportedly disappeared from the cause list.
