‘Muturi’s statement on abduction was careless’ – former police spokesperson says

Former police spokesperson Charles Owino has criticized Public Service and Human Capital Development Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi over his recent statements regarding his son Leslie’s abduction.

Speaking to a local media station on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Owino denounced Muturi’s actions, describing them as a breach of the president’s trust.

He explained that Muturi should have followed proper procedures in handling information about his son’s disappearance.

“The statement was a careless statement from a minister. He (Muturi) has breached the trust of the President. We can have our differences but we must be careful on how we release this matters,” he said.

Owino emphasized that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) handles sensitive matters and cannot reveal the nature of its operations, arguing that Muturi was given information about his son’s whereabouts based on trust.

“The CS (Muturi) has been a member of the National Security Council, Speaker of the National Assembly and an Attorney General. If it is true that he got information that his child was with the National Intelligence Service and he went to the president and the president called; the president (acted) out of trust and respect because intelligence is an important organ which is a secret agency,” Owino stated.

According to Owino, Leslie’s case is extraordinary.

“It is not an ordinary thing for a son of a CS to be allegedly picked,” he said.

Leslie’s disappearance

In a police statement recorded by CS Muturi at Kilimani Police Station on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, his son, Leslie, was kidnapped on June 22, 2024, by armed hooded gangsters along Dennis Pritt Road.

The CS recounted receiving a frantic call from his daughter-in-law, Wairimu, who informed him about the incident.

He then attempted to contact Leslie and locate him through various security agencies, including the Inspector General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the National Intelligence Service (NIS), but he had no success.

Muturi says he gained access to CCTV footage that revealed the identities of the vehicles trailing Leslie’s car before the abduction.

“The footage showed Leslie driving out, followed by Mwenje. The footage also captured the box Prado and another vehicle, resembling a Probox, following Leslie and Mwenje prior to the abduction,” he said.

President Ruto’s intervention

After numerous attempts to trace Leslie, Muturi escalated the matter to President William Ruto.

“Knowing the President had been attending a church service in Nyandarua, I decided to drive to State House to see him in person. I then narrated the ordeal, including my interactions with various senior government officials who had been unable to help. I expressed my belief that NIS was holding my son. The president joked, asking why anyone would want to arrest a young person over the GenZ demonstrations,” the statement read.

Muturi then asked President Ruto to personally contact NIS Director Noordin Haji to inquire about Leslie.

“Standing outside the pavilion, I heard the president ask Noordin Haji if he was holding my son, Noordin confirmed that indeed he was holding my son and the president instructed him to release Leslie immediately. Noordin responded that Leslie would be released within an hour,” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary revealed that his son was released shortly thereafter.