Ruto Ally Resurfaces After Mysterious Disappearance Hours to BBI Meeting

Benjamin Washiali, MP for Mumias East, has resurfaced a day after he went missing on the night of Friday, January 17, just hours to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) meeting at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.

Rumours had been rife that the lawmaker had been abducted by unknown assailants during a crackdown on Deputy President William Ruto's allies who were planning a parallel rally in Mumias.

According to a report by Daily Nation, Washiali refuted claims that he had been abducted from his rural home in Shitoto village and explained that he had gone into hiding to avoid a police dragnet.

He explained that he heard police sirens approaching his home and that was when he decided to run to a nearby thicket before calling a friend who took him to Kisumu from where he boarded a plane to Nairobi.

Mumias East Legislator Benjamin Washiali

"I heard sounds of vehicles approaching my home and when I peeped through the window, I noticed several police officers surrounding my compound.

"I knew they were after me because of the meeting we had organised in Mumias. I escaped through the backdoor and hid in a thicket behind my home," explained Washiali.

He went on to add that he watched the officers survey his place but since they could not find anybody inside the house, they drove off.

"That is when I called a friend who took me to Kisumu where I spent the rest of the night before I flew to Nairobi the following morning.

“I want to assure everybody that I am safe from where I am and will be travelling back to Mumias any day from Monday,” he continued.

Washiali's disappearance had sent chills down the DP's Western Kenya camp with his bodyguard and personal assistant telling Shianda Police Post that the legislator was missing in his house.

A section of Ruto's allies had on Saturday, January 18, stormed the police station demanding the police to reveal Washiali's whereabouts. They claimed that BBI organisers had abducted him following Cotu secretary-general Francis Atwoli's threat ahead of the event.

“We have been following all those people organising the Mumias meeting. We have their names and I can assure you, none of them will leave their homes," Atwoli had earlier threatened.

ODM leader Raila Odinga, Governor Anne Waiguru, Governor Charity Ngilu and Nominated MP Maina Kamanda and at Bukhungu Stadium on Saturday, January 18, 2020.