Fridah Ongili, the wife to Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino, has said that her husband is being detained at Wang’uru police station in Mwea, Kirinyaga County.
This comes after reports claimed that the firebrand was apprehended by unknown persons on the eve of the anti-government protests, Tuesday, July 18, upon his arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from Mombasa and had gone missing since then.
Fridah said Owino notified her of the arrest and had vowed to call back, a promise which got aborted.
“Yesterday in the evening he called me at around 11 pm and he told me that he is at the airport, he had just landed, he was being detained by the DCI,” she said.
“He told me he was going to call me after that which he hasn’t been able to, his phone went off and it has been off ever since.”
Now worried about her husband’s silence, Fridah said she launched a search at the DCI station in JKIA and all the police stations within Nairobi.
“From today in the morning all I have been doing is searching for him, I started at the DCI headquarters, I was directed to go to the airport he was not there, I went to Muthaiga, Gigiri, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Embakasi police stations, went back to the airport and again to the DCI. A lot of running around trying to find him,” she said.
After an errand which almost turned futile, Fridah was directed to Wang’uru police station where Owino is said to have been detained.
However, upon her arrival, she was denied entry into the premise by police, who confirmed that her husband was there.
“Finally I was given information that he is in Wanguru police station in Mwea. He is definitely here because there is a lady who took me aside because I went to the gate and said that all I want is to give my husband food and some medicine because he wasn’t feeling well on Monday when he left for the trip,” she said.
“They refused me entry, in fact, they literally carried me out of there but there was a heavy police presence and it made me ascertain that indeed my husband is in Wanguru police station.”
Fridah went on to add that she also got wind that there was a high likelihood of Owino being transferred from the station to an undisclosed location.
She pleaded for help from the Azimio la Umoja coalition leaders noting that he husband has done nothing wrong to warrant arrest.
“The only problem is we have information that he’s likely to be transferred now that we know where he is so I’m praying to God that he will just stay here,” she said.
“My plea to Azimio leaders, Raila Odinga, (do) what you can do to please assist my husband to be free… to the government….you are the ones holding him illegally. All I want is to give my husband food and to check on him…to see that he is safe.”
