A Kenyan government minister has claimed that the country’s national intelligence agency was behind the abduction of his son last year, as criticism of rising kidnappings continues.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi said the National Intelligence Service (NIS) released his son after receiving a call from President William Ruto.

Muturi is the first cabinet member to publicly criticize the government’s handling of Kenya’s spate of kidnappings.

In a statement to the police criminal investigation unit on Tuesday, Muturi detailed how his son Leslie was abducted on June 22 last year.

Ruto and intelligence agencies have yet to comment on his accusations.

According to a state-funded human rights group, at least 80 people have been kidnapped in the past six months, including the minister’s son.

The wave of kidnappings began last June following protests against tax increases and has continued to this day.

Under public pressure, some of the abductees have been released.

Earlier this week, the minister told reporters that despite contacting senior security officials, he had yet to receive answers about his son’s abduction.

Muturi said the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) then urged him to record a statement to them and told him the matter was still under investigation.

In his statement to the CIA, Muturi recalled calling the inspector general of police, the interior minister, the CIA director, intelligence agency chiefs and other senior officials in his desperate search for his son, but added that all Everyone is looking for their son. Unable to help.

He said he also sent a message to Ruto but later decided to go to his official residence and raise the matter with him directly.

“I then recounted my experience (to the president), including my interactions with various senior government officials who were unable to assist. I expressed my belief that the NIS was holding my son hostage,” Muturi said in the statement.

He said the president joked about the issue and then called the head of the intelligence agency, who promised to release his son within an hour.

Muturi added: “I heard the President ask (Director of National Intelligence) Noureddin Haji if he was holding my son. (He) confirmed that he was indeed holding my son and the President directed him to release Rice immediately profit.”

Muturi has faced calls to resign from some government-aligned politicians for his public criticism of the government he serves.

Foreigners have also been kidnapped, including prominent Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai, who on Monday described how she was abducted by armed men and released hours later.

Last year, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was kidnapped by Ugandan security officials in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and brought across the border to face a military court.

Muturi’s public mention of Ruto’s name in connection with the kidnapping was a provocative challenge to the president and was seen as violating the principle of collective government responsibility.

It has also fueled speculation about influence on the government, with other ministers and officials regularly denying the kidnappings were carried out by the state.

Amid public uproar, the president late last year said “we will stop kidnapping” while advising parents to instill good values ​​in their children.

He also warned young people not to use social media to disrespect leaders, as online criticism of the government continued to be widespread.