Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju was released on a Sh100,000 personal bond Wednesday after pleading not guilty to charges of providing false information to the police regarding his alleged kidnapping. The politician appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Stella Atambo at the Kibera Law Courts, where he formally denied misleading authorities about his 43-hour disappearance in March 2026.
The prosecution alleges that on March 21, 2026, Raphael Tuju knowingly informed the Officer Commanding Station at Karen Police Post that unknown assailants had trailed and abducted him. However, investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) countered this claim, asserting that forensic evidence and mobile phone tracking placed the former minister at his Karen residence throughout the period he was reported missing.
Raphael Tuju’s legal team argued that their client did not intend to deceive the public or the police. They maintained that the former Secretary General of the Jubilee Party went into hiding out of a genuine fear for his personal safety. According to his lawyers, Tuju noticed an unmarked vehicle without registration plates trailing him and chose to seek refuge in a secure, undisclosed location until the perceived threat subsided.
“My client is a law-abiding citizen who acted out of an abundance of caution following a credible threat to his life,” stated Tuju’s lead counsel during the bail application. “The charges brought forward are a misinterpretation of a man’s instinctive need for self-preservation in a volatile political climate, and we are confident the court will eventually see the truth of the matter.”
In addition to the bond, Magistrate Atambo ordered the immediate release of Raphael Tuju’s motor vehicle, which the police had been holding as an exhibit since his resurfacing. The court noted that the vehicle was not central to the primary charge of giving false information. This legal reprieve comes just days after the Supreme Court separately suspended the planned auction of Tuju’s multi-billion shilling properties over an ongoing debt dispute with a regional bank.
The court set the next mention of the case for April 15, 2026, to allow the prosecution time to serve the defense with all witness statements and documentary evidence. The outcome of this trial is expected to have significant implications for the veteran politician’s future public engagements and legal standing.
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