Police say Juja MP George Koimburi staged abduction

Police believe Juja MP George Koimburi staged his abduction for political gains.

The police have denied being involved in the abduction or alleged arrest and his subsequent release and have launched an investigation into the incident.

An official statement will be issued to explain the issue, sources said.

Koimburi was found alive dumped in Jacaranda coffee plantation, Kibichoi, Kiambu and taken to hospital.

He was picked up from the plantation on Monday morning almost 12 hours after his family and friends said he had been kidnapped in Mugutha area.

Police want to establish how those who found him in the said plantation learned of his presence there.

“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,” said an officer aware of the case.

The officer said on Friday a team had tried to get him as he left an event in Juja but he alighted from his car with a security official and jumped onto a motorcycle vanishing.

His driver was arrested and taken to DCI headquarters for grilling where he explained the MP instructed him to drop him on the road after learning police were planning to arrest him. This is in connection with a land fraud case that is under probe.

“Since then, he has been offline and it was until Sunday when we saw reports he had been abducted or arrested. Hours later we saw reports he had been found.”

A team visited a church he is said to have been prior to the said abduction, the scene the abduction took place, the scene he was found in a coffee plantation and two hospitals where he was attended to.

They wanted to know the veracity of the said injuries the MP had when he was found and taken to the hospital.

They recorded statements from witnesses.

The team concluded they need to talk to the MP for more information.

Koimburi complained of being beaten up by his abductors who picked him from outside a church in Kiambu on Sunday afternoon.

When he was found, he was lying on the ground unconscious and writhing in pain while in a navy blue suit he was in on Sunday when he was picked up.

The motive of the incident is yet to be known. But police say it was self abduction for political gains.

According to eyewitness 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 after the service before suddenly overpowering him and forcing him into a waiting Subaru Forester with an altered number plate—allegedly intended to obscure the vehicle’s true identity.

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

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

“They started hitting me from outside, and I felt as if my arm was broken. I had no choice but to let go of my husband,” she recounted.

The two men, dressed in plain clothes, did not identify themselves during the incident.

Koimburi was wanted since Friday in connection with alleged land fraud. The matter is pending under probe.

The incident follows political unrest witnessed a day earlier in Kakamega, where supporters of the Democratic Change Party (DCP) were dispersed by police during planned rallies. The party’s Deputy Leader, Cleophas Malala, also had his vehicle impounded for alleged dangerous driving.

Koimburi is close to former Deputy President DCP Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua.

Gachagua condemned the actions, describing them as part of a systematic political persecution targeting opposition leaders. “It started with me; they assaulted me.

Gachagua accused President William Ruto of political intolerance, urging residents of the Mt. Kenya region to rethink their engagement with government empowerment programs.

Gachagua claims that it is evident the government is targeting supporters of the party in an attempt to sabotage their campaign against the government.
The government is yet to issue a statement on the issue.