An uproar occurred on Monday, May 26, 2025, following the abduction of Juja MP George Koimburi, who was later found abandoned in a bush along the Ruiru-Githunguri road in Kiambu County.

The incident has sparked widespread questions, with police suggesting that the MP may have staged his own abduction for political gain, while simultaneously denying any involvement in the matter.

Koimburi was abducted by unknown individuals on Sunday, May 25, 2025, after attending a church service.

He was discovered by passers-by on Monday morning, writhing in pain at Jacaranda coffee plantation, off the Ruiru-Githunguri road, nearly 12 hours after his abduction in Mugutha, within his constituency.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stated that doctors at Karen Hospital, where the MP is admitted, confirmed that he was tortured and had lost his voice.

“He has communicated through writing and said some chemicals were administered through inhalation,” Gachagua said in a media address on May 26, 2025.

Vengeful dictator

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka condemned the abduction.

“We condemn the abduction of Juja MP George Koimburi in the strongest terms possible,” Kalonzo said in a statement.

Gachagua maintained that President William Ruto’s administration was behind the abduction and had formed a special unit comprising 20 police officers from his ethnic community.

“We appeal to the international community to rescue this country. President Ruto has become a vengeful dictator whose activities are similar to those of Idi Amin,” he said.

After his discovery, the MP was first taken to Plainview Hospital in Ruiru for first aid treatment before being transferred to Karen Hospital.

His family accused security agents of abducting the legislator, pointing out that Koimburi had previously managed to escape an arrest attempt on Friday, May 23, 2025, by fleeing on a motorbike.

However, police have denied any involvement in the abduction or the reported arrest, stating they would launch an investigation into the incident.

Koimburi was found in the plantation almost 12 hours after his family and friends reported him missing in Mugutha.

The police source said they want to establish how those who found him in the said plantation learned of his presence.  

“Who found him, how and what time? His mobile phone has been off since Friday when police tried to arrest him and the operation was called off then,” an officer aware of the case said.

Police also confirmed they have been tracking him down and tried to arrest him on Friday as he left an event in Juja, but he alighted from his car with a security official, jumped onto a motorcycle and vanished.

The MP’s driver was arrested and taken to DCI headquarters for grilling, where he reportedly explained the MP had instructed him to drop him on the road after learning police were planning to arrest him.  

Police say they were pursuing Koimburi in connection with a land fraud case that is under probe and also misappropriation of NG-CDF funds.

“Since then, he has been offline, and it was not until Sunday that we saw reports he had been abducted or arrested. Hours later, we got reports he had been found,” the source said.

Later, a team of police investigators visited a church he is said to have been to before the said abduction, the scene where the abduction took place, the scene where he was found in a coffee plantation and two hospitals where he was attended to.  

They also wanted to establish the nature of the injuries the MP had sustained when he was found and taken to the hospital, and they intend to talk to the MP for more information.  

Regulatory flaws

When he was found, he was lying on the ground unconscious and writhing in pain.

He was in a navy blue suit that he was wearing when he was picked up from the church.

The motive of the incident is yet to be known, but police insist it was self-abduction for political expediency.  

According to witness accounts and statements from Koimburi’s wife, Ann Koimburi, the MP was accosted by two men disguised as worshippers.  

The men joined a crowd of well-wishers greeting the MP outside the church and forced him into a waiting Subaru Forester with an altered number plate.

“We had just left the church, and it is normal for Mheshimiwa to greet people, but they quickly turned on him and forced him into a car,” Ann said.  

She added that she attempted to intervene but was overpowered and injured in the ensuing scuffle.