The family of missing blogger Ndiang’ui Kinyagia has confirmed that he is alive, safe, and ready to cooperate with authorities.
In a statement on Thursday, July 3, family lawyer Wahome Thuku announced that Kinyagia made contact with his relatives on Tuesday evening and expressed his willingness to present himself to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
"Mr Ndiangui who went missing last week has contacted the family and that he is well, healthy and safe. Mr Ndiangui contacted a family member on Tuesday evening from undisclosed location," the statement reads.
Thuku disclosed that Kinyagia had been in hiding due to concerns for his personal safety after learning that DCI officers were going after him.
"Mr Ndiangui indicated to the family member that he had hidden temporarily for fear of his life upon learning that DCI officers were looking for him over unknown criminal allegations," the statement continued.
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In response, the family has advised Kinyagia to present himself before the High Court at Milimani Law Courts today at 11AM.
The legal team has also communicated this plan to the Law Society of Kenya for appropriate legal support and oversight.
“Mr Ndiangui has indicated that he is ready and willing to present himself to the DCI and to be presented before any court of law when his safety and security is guaranteed,” the statement added.
Thuku further accuses DCI officers of unlawfully entering Kinyagia’s home during his absence and confiscating several items.
He also expressed gratitude to Kenyans, both locally and abroad, for their support during the ordeal.
“We wish to remind the public that the DCI broke into his house in his absence and carried away several and that the family reported the subsequent events at Kinoo Police Station.
"The family of Mr Ndiangui wishes to thank all Kenyans both in Kenya and abroad for the support you have accorded them throughout this trying moment. It's our hope and prayer that justice will prevail in this matter,” the lawyer concluded.
On Monday, June 30, DCI boss Mohamed Amin said that Kinyagia was not in police custody, however, acknowledging that he was being sought for questioning over controversial online posts ahead of the June 25th protests.
“Ndiagui Kinyagia was a person of interest to us after publishing inflammatory content on social media. Our primary investigations established that the social media account belonged to Ndiagui. We profiled him, we identified his residence, and our officers conducted a search at his apartment in Kinoo," he said.
Amin said the blogger was not found at his residence during the search, but the police managed to seize several items that could aid in their investigations.
“Unfortunately, he was not in his apartment, but we managed to conduct a search, recovering an assortment of electronic gadgets that we believe would be useful to us in our investigations.
“Mine is to confirm to Kenyans that Ndiagui is not under the custody of the National Police Service (NPS), he is a person of interest to us, and wherever he is, I would urge that he surrender to the nearest police station,” he further said.
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