'It was staged!' DCI arrests Tuju after dismissing disappearance tale

Speaking hours after Tuju resurfaced under claims that he was hiding inside a home in Kiambu, DCI Director Amin Mohamed said that the investigative branch conducted a thorough forensic analysis that disputes Tuju's claims.

Addressing the press on Monday, Amin said that Tuju had been hiding in his residence throughout the time of his reported disappearance up to his resurfacing.

The DCI boss said that after Tuju was reported to have gone missing on Saturday, an investigative team was deployed to probe the matter.

He added that suspicions rose when Tuju's family denied some of the officers access to his Karen home, prompting a heightened, delicate investigation.

"An operation team comprising uniformed police officers and plainclothes detectives was deployed to secure the premises," he said.

"The homestead was cordoned off to preserve the scene to prevent any intervention or flight as the officers pursued a search warrant from the court."

Director Amin stated that after the officers trailed Tuju's movements from his reported time of disappearance, they discovered that he was in his house, even when his mobile phone was switched off at 6:16 pm.

"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," Amin said.

He faulted Tuju for staging an abduction to mislead the public, a matter he said is considered a grave offence, prompting his arrest to record a statement.

"This was a carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine case of abduction. The NPS views this conduct not merely as an isolated act of falsehood but as an attempt to mislead the Kenyan public and undermine confidence in the institutions entrusted with protecting the public," he said.

"The provision of false information is a serious offence. Accordingly, Tuju has been arrested and booked at the Karen Police Station to record a comprehensive statement explaining his whereabouts, the reports filed by his family and the particulars of the good Samaritans who gave him accommodation in Kiambu."

The former CS said that he went into hiding after realizing that suspicious persons were trailing him on Saturday. He said he informed police that he was being trailed by a land cruiser that did not have a plate number and later escaped.

“I branched into Nandi Road; they were not able to branch in … it meant that they had to turn or go round to follow me. That is how I lost them,” he said.

He would later abandon his vehicle along Miotoni Lane in Karen and go into hiding.