Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has opened the Pandora's box in a damning revelation of how his son, Leslie Muturi, was allegedly abducted and released by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) officers following an order by President William Ruto.

In a statement to police recorded on Tuesday, the CS gave a detailed account of how his son was kidnapped on June 22, 2024, by armed hooded gangsters along Dennis Pritt Road.

At the time, Leslie was in the company of Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje and Marangu Imanyara at Alfajiri Lounge before deciding to go to a birthday party in Lavington.

On their way to the party, Leslie is said to have been kidnapped by armed men who forced him into a Prado and drove off.

CS Muturi recalled calling then Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, who promised to look into the matter. 

His efforts to contact the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohammed Amin and NIS Director General Noordin Haji were futile as his calls went unanswered.

The CS then called the IG again who assured him that he had alerted all personnel on all routes, suspecting that it might have been a robbery despite Muturi's conviction that it was a police operation.

Muturi pointed out that police from Kilimani had contacted Citizen TV to acquire CCTV footage of Leslie and his entourage leaving Alfajiri Lounge.

Given the weight of the matter, Muturi revealed that he sent a WhatsApp message to President William Ruto informing him of his son's abduction, but the text was not read.

He received a silver lining after an NIS officer called him to reveal that his son was being held by their people. Multiple efforts to reach Haji, again, were futile as he neither answered calls nor texts.

"Just before 1:00 pm, I decided to call Prof. Kindiki, then Interior CS. After explaining the entire situation, he expressed shock and assured me he would contact Noordin Haji," the CS noted in the statement.

"15 minutes later, Prof. Kindiki called back saying he had spoken with the DG of NIS, who denied holding Leslie. Despite my insistence that I had confirmed information from an NIS officer, Prof. Kindiki maintained that the DG could not be lying."

State House meeting

The CS went ahead to state that he then decided to physically visit State House to prompt the President to act over the matter. He narrated the ordeal to Ruto and expressed his belief that NIS was holding his son.

"The President joked, asking why anyone would want to arrest a young person over the Gen Z demonstrations. He even mentioned that Kiunjuir's son and the sons of other officials had been involved in similar demonstrations," he noted.

Ruto, who acknowledged that his phone had jammed for receiving an overload of messages, called Haji after Muturi's request.

"Standing outside the pavilion, I heard the President ask 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," the CS added.

Muturi acknowledged that his son was afterwards indeed released and went home.