A standoff ensued on Saturday, August 7 following the arrest of a Turkish businessman at the Wilson Airport.
Videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke showed Kapseret Member of Parliament, Oscar Sudi, questioning police officers over the refusal to allow lawyer Cliff Ombeta from seeing the arrested who is being held by the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU). Ombeta is the businessman's counsel.
The businessman is said to have been part of Deputy President William Ruto's aborted trip to Uganda.
Officials from the Turkish Embassy in Nairobi are said to have arrived at the premises where the businessman was being held but were also denied access.
According to sources who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, despite persistent calls and requests by the Turks to access the businessman, there was no response as the entrance to the highly fortified premises remained shut.
MP Sudi later addressed a press conference outside the premises and accused the government of holding the businessman without an explanation although he had valid documents granting him authority to live and do business in the country.
"He came from Uganda in the company of three others who were not arrested, he has been held and no explanations have been provided so far."
"Everybody has been blocked from getting inside the ATPU offices. The investor is being frustrated because of politics," the lawmaker stated.
Sudi maintained that the businessman's arrest was to divert the attention from the Deputy President's trip to Uganda that was blocked on Monday, August 2.
"The Turkish has been doing business in Kenya. If he were a terrorist, he would not have been allowed to travel to Uganda. The business relations between Kenya and Turkey should not be destroyed," he added.
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta maintained that the businessman had a valid work permit and that he (Ombeta) had made several calls to the Inspector General of Police but they went unanswered.
"This is a big risk of destroying diplomatic relations with Turkey. He has a work permit for doing business in Kenya. I called the IG who didn't respond to the calls. He knows what is going on. The Turkish does not speak English and requires an interpreter who was blocked from seeing him," the lawyer remarked.
Ombeta said that they would pursue the matter to ensure the businessman gets justice.
