Harun Aydin: DP Ruto expresses fury over Turk's treatment by authorities

Deputy President William Ruto has taken to social media to express his anger over how a foreign associate linked to him was treated by the government.

Dr Ruto said he has apologised to Harun Aydin, the Turkish national who was detained by security on Saturday at Wilson Airport after jetting in from Uganda, and who subsequently left the country on Monday, for what he termed as "political pettiness".

He also alleged that Mr Aydin was tortured and asked to leave the country. 

His reaction comes just hours after it emerged that Mr Aydin was deported from Kenya after spending two nights in custody. His lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, accompanied by Kapsaret legislator Oscar Sudi, confirmed the development to reporters on Monday.

Mr Aydin was expected at Kahawa Law Courts, Kiambu on Monday morning to answer to terrorism charges. 

"We will fight his deportation and he will come back either this year or next year. He is not a terrorist," Mr Ahmednasir said. 

Mr Aydin was part of the team scheduled to accompany Deputy President William Ruto to Uganda before the trip aborted. Dr Ruto was dramatically blocked from boarding a flight to the neighbouring country for not seeking clearance as all civil servants should.

The Kenyan government has since branded the Turkish national a terror suspect whose presence in the country is under interrogation, but DP Ruto previously termed the whole fiasco as “nonsense, stupidity and foolish”.

Mr Aydin's host in Uganda, Mr Paul Bamutaze, who was also on the Saturday flight, has filed a case at the East African Court of Justice. He wants utterances made by a section of Kenyan politicians against the neighbouring country's ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), declared unlawful.

Mr Bamutaze was also arrested and deported to his country by road.