Turkish investor Harun Aydin detained at Wilson Airport
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi with security officials from the Turkish Embassy at the Anti-Terror Police Unit headquarters along Ngong Road in Nairobi, where Harun Aydin was taken after arriving from Uganda on August 7, 2021.
Harun Aydin, the Turkish national who was in the team scheduled to accompany Deputy President William Ruto to Uganda, was on Saturday detained at Wilson Airport in Nairobi after landing from Uganda.
This comes after DP Ruto was on Monday dramatically blocked from boarding a flight to Uganda for not seeking clearance as all civil servants should.
Via Twitter on Saturday, the Deputy President attributed Mr Aydin's woes to cartels.
What happened
The DP was scheduled to fly for an unknown mission to Entebbe, accompanied by a seven-man entourage comprising of his close political allies and businessmen.
The plane he was to use; a Cessna 560XL registered using tail number 5Y WHB, had already been prepared for flight but its crew was told at the last minute that their VVIP guest would not be flying after all.
The DP’s office protested what it termed a change of rules on his foreign travels without notice.
Mr Aydin has since been branded a terror suspect whose presence in the country is under interrogation, but DP Ruto has termed the whole fiasco “nonsense, stupidity and foolish”.
He noted that the Turkish Embassy has issued a statement saying Mr Aydin is a holder of a valid work permit issued by the government of Kenya, an investor and a contributor to economic development.
Dr Ruto said: "That is how we are destroying Kenya ... by dragging political nonsense even to investors said to be close to me."
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and lawyer Cliff Ombeta address the media at the Anti-Terror Police Unit headquarters along Ngong Road in Nairobi, where Harun Aydin was taken after arriving from Uganda on August 7, 2021.
Uganda's position
In its reaction to claims that DP Ruto decided to fly to Uganda without informing his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Yoweri Museveni's government denied allegations of interfering in Kenyan affairs.
“Our foreign policy is very clear - that we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of any country whatsoever. We have no authority ... we have no power over Kenyan government,"Okello Oryem, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.
"They have their own reasons why they prevented HE Ruto from coming to Uganda and that should be channeled to the Kenyan High Commission."
