A Kenyan parliamentarian who was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified persons following a church service on Sunday is receiving medical attention in a hospital after being discovered on a coffee field.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had claimed that George Koimburi was in a “very serious condition” at the Karen Hospital in the capital, Nairobi, after having been “badly beaten.”
Koimburi, a strong opponent of the administration, is friends with Gachagua, who was ousted from office last year after a falling out with President William Ruto and impeached by parliament.
Outrage has been generated by the purported kidnapping, and the opposition has accused the government of intimidation. It hasn’t responded to the accusation yet.
Local media reported that police were looking into the event.
According to the sources, Koimburi’s relatives and other individuals were alerted by a motorcyclist who discovered him early on Monday morning.
The MP was shown in a widely circulated video clip lying on the ground with his clothes rumpled and seemed to be in discomfort.
Koimburi’s wife informed reporters on Sunday that he was seized and thrown into a car while they were outside a church in his Juja constituency in central Kiambu county.
According to reports, Koimburi was discovered less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the claimed abduction site at a coffee field in the neighboring Ruiru district.
Gachagua, who visited him in the hospital, said that lawmakers who made a “vocal stand against the government” were being singled out by the government.