Ndiangui Kinyagia Called Out for Going Into Hiding Amid Abduction Claims

Activist Boniface Mwangi has called out Ndiang'ui Kinyagia following revelations that he was not abducted, but had instead gone into hiding.

In a statement on Thursday, July 3, Mwangi criticized Kinyagia’s actions, calling them harmful to the trust of people who were rallying for his release.

"What Ndiangui Kinyagia has done is wrong, and criminal. An entire country was fighting for his release, and praying for his safety thinking he was abducted but all this time he was in hiding! Shame on him, and his family for misleading an entire nation," he said.

Earlier Thursday, Kinyagia's family had confirmed that he is alive, safe, and ready to cooperate with authorities.

In a statement, 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 an 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.

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.

“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.