PS Sing’Oei reveals whereabouts of 4 ‘abducted’ Turkish nationals

By Peter Ochieng

The Principal Secretary (PS), Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Korir Sing’Oei has revealed the whereabouts of four Turkish nationals, reportedly abducted on Friday.

In a statement, the PS said the four were repatriated back to their Country on Friday, at the request of Turkish authorities.

“Kenya acceded to this request on the strength of the robust historical and strategic relations anchored on bilateral instruments between our respective countries,” he stated.

The four, he said, having been residing in Kenya as refugees. He said Turkish authorities confirmed that the four will be treated with dignity, even as he assured refugees in Kenya that there is no cause for alarm.

“The rights, welfare and wellbeing of the more than 780,000 refugees residing in the country will remain the government’s singular priority,” he added.

Over the weekend, a British national told the BBC that he and several Turkish citizens were abducted in Nairobi by masked men on Friday.

Necdet Seyitoğlu, who lived in the UK for 18 years before moving to Kenya two years ago, said he was released after eight hours when he showed his alleged abductors a copy of his British passport.

Kenyan police said they were investigating a "kidnapping incident" after a motorcycle driver witnessed the abduction. "About eight persons armed with weapons emerged from the two vehicles, pulled out the two occupants and drove off with them,” said National Police Service (NPS) spokeswoman Resila Onyango.

"Later, one Yusuf Kar, a British national of Turkish origin reported to a nearby police station and identified the kidnapped men as Hüseyin Yeşilsu and Necdet Seyitoğlu,” she added.

Seyitoğlu, an education consultant, described a white SUV intercepting his car as he was leaving home for work with a friend at 07:30 local time. The pair were blindfolded and handcuffed by four armed men, before being driven off to an unknown location, he said.

"We asked them, can you show your identification? Where are we going? But we didn't get any kind of explanation," the 49-year-old said.

"It was the worst experience of my life," he added.

He said he was eventually able to convince his alleged abductors that he was a British citizen by showing them a copy of his passport on this phone. “After taking a photo, the men received a call that sounded like it was an instruction to release him,” he said.

Turkish authorities did not comment on the incident.