Masked men abducted a British national and a group of Turkish citizens in Nairobi, Kenya. Necdet Seyitoğlu, formerly a UK resident, has revealed he was freed after eight hours when he showed the kidnappers a copy of his UK passport. Four of the eight Turkish nationals taken at the same time are still unaccounted for. Kenyan police are investigating the incident, which was witnessed by a motorbike driver. The UK Foreign Office said they were “providing consular support to a British man and his family following an incident in Kenya”. Turkish officials have not yet commented.
It was reported that two vehicles intercepted a silver saloon car and then blocked it from the front and back on Friday morning. About eight people emerged from the vehicles with weapons and kidnapped the two occupants. Seyitoğlu was able to provide additional details about what had happened during his own kidnapping. He stated he was intercepted by a white SUV as he headed to work that morning. Both he and his friend were handcuffed and blindfolded before being driven away by four men, before being separated.
Seyitoğlu said he was eventually able to convince the kidnappers that he was a British national by displaying a copy of his passport on his mobile phone. Having taken a picture, the men apparently received a call which sounded like an instruction to release him. The men then left him in an unknown location, before offering him 1000 shillings ($7.50) for transport home. Seyitoğlu confirmed that six other Turkish nationals had also been taken from different points in Nairobi.
Further questions have been raised about the fate of the Turkish citizens who are still missing. A Kenyan law firm, Mukele & Kakai, said that it was representing four men who had been listed as refugees, and warned airlines not to allow the men to travel back to Turkey. Amnesty International has expressed concerns over the reported abductions, suggesting that the group is made up of asylum seekers who may have been targeted due to their opposition to President Erdogan. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees stated that it was “aware of reports and will provide more information once we have it”
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