ODM Claims Raila Odinga’s Bbodyguard Abducted, Babu Owino Arrested

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga’s bodyguard Maurice Ogeta has reportedly been abducted by unknown men suspected to be police officers, the ODM party has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, ODM’s director of communications Philip Etale said Ogeta was accosted by the assailants on his way to work from home on Wednesday morning. The men flagged him down and then bundled him into the boot of his car.

After a few minutes drive, Etale claims, the car stalled and the assailants had to force Ogeta out of the boot to help them restart it.

“After driving for a few minutes, the vehicle stalled and they got him out of the boot to show them how to restart it before returning him to the boot and speeding off to an unknown destination,” read the statement in part.

Etale further claimed that Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was apprehended on Tuesday night moments after arriving in Nairobi from Mombasa. Owino and other Members of Parliament from Nairobi County are said to have attended a meeting with officials from Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) in Mombasa.

MP Owino had also taken to his Facebook page claiming that he had been arrested.

“Have been detained by the DCI JKIA after my arrival from Mombasa. Currently under arrest,” he wrote.

Citizen Digital has since reached out to the MP for a comment, but his phone could not go through.

The alleged incidents come in the wake of anti-government protests scheduled to happen on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The ODM party has condemned the abduction of Ogeta and the arrest of Owino, calling them “a clear attempt by the government to intimidate and silence its opponents.”

The party has demanded the immediate release of Ogeta and Owino, and has called for an investigation into the incidents.