Raphael Tuju missing after suspected abduction in Karen, Nairobi

Police loading Tuju's abandoned car./HANDOUT

Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju is missing after a suspected abduction.

A report of a missing person was filed at Karen Police Station in Nairobi by his family. The report was made Sunday.

His son and lawyer said Tuju’s mobile phones had been switched off since Saturday night, which was unusual. He was to appear for an evening radio show, but he did not do so. His car was found abandoned on Miotoni Lane in Karen, Nairobi.

The motive of the incident, if any, is yet to be revealed.

According to the family, Tuju's son, Mano Tuju, received a call from the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Karen Police Station informing him that his father's vehicle had been discovered abandoned along Miotoni Lane on Saturday night.

The family said Tuju has not been seen since Saturday afternoon, and his mobile phone has remained switched off since then.

“We don’t know why and how but his car was found abandoned on the roadside,” he said.

Police helped the family to remove the car to the station for further action. Tuju had reportedly filed a police report on Saturday, stating that he was being followed by a white Land Cruiser 70-series vehicle without number plates.

Police said they were investigating the claims. Police said both cases of him being trailed and missing were being investigated.

Police said a report had been made about Karen, and the matter is being investigated.

Tuju is embroiled in a row with a bank and businessman over his property in Karen. It is not clear if the cases are linked to the latest developments.

Tuju last week accused the National Police Service of unlawfully occupying a private business complex in Karen, raising serious concerns about professionalism, accountability, and alleged ethnic divisions within the force.

In a letter addressed to Inspector General Douglas Kanja, Tuju claims that more than 100 police officers staged a late-night raid on Dari Business Park at around 2:40 a.m. on March 13, 2026, without a court order or any formal documentation.

According to Tuju, the officers—who arrived in multiple vehicles—have remained stationed at the premises for days, effectively locking out tenants and disrupting normal business operations.

He stated that despite repeated inquiries, police on site have neither offered written nor verbal explanations for their continued presence, saying they are “waiting for instructions from above.”

Tuju alleged that some of the police vehicles involved in the operation had their number plates removed, while several officers wore balaclavas to conceal their identities.

He claims to possess video and photographic evidence to support these assertions, which he says he is ready to submit to authorities.

He described the operation as an “arrogant display of impunity” and questions why a large contingent of armed officers would be deployed without clear legal backing.