Ethiopian businessman Samson Teklemichael went missing on Friday November 19 after being apprehended by people believed to be police officers.
Teklemichael was driving his car when he was allegedly stopped by a traffic police officer in Kileleshwa. In a short while, men in civilian clothes removed him from his vehicle and bundled him in a Subaru as other road users recorded the incident.
The businessman is said to have called his wife Milen Mezgebo as he was being removed from his car and since then she has not heard anything from him.
The ‘police officers’ then left with Teklemichael leaving his car in the middle of the road only for his wife to pick it up later after being informed by a friend.
The police have however denied any involvement in the incident that has left Teklemichael’s family in despair and panic over fear of what would become of their kin.
According to the police spokesperson Bruno Shioso, the police follow the rule of law and therefore they would have done so in case they wanted to arrest the businessman.
“I think Kenyan intelligence can speak for Kenya and Ethiopian intelligence for Ethiopia. In Kenya we arrest suspects, take them to court and process them through the criminal justice system,” Shioso told the media.
“We are a rule of law country, and our law enforcement pursue democratic policing ideals. If she claims she’s in contact with Ethiopian intelligence then they’re better placed to comment,” he added.
Milen accused the police of being behind her husband’s abduction arguing that only government agencies can take a person in broad daylight.
“If those were thugs, the traffic police officers would not have allowed them to take Samson. Secondly, if they were thugs, they would have asked for ransom by now, so this is the government,” she noted.
She further said that the Ethiopian embassy in Kenya denied any involvement with the incident but it was willing to help her.
A video that was shared in social media captured Teklemichael being apprehended by unknown people as the traffic officer watched. He could be heard pleading with the public to record his misfortune.
The businessman deals with gas and oil products in Addis Ababa and Nairobi and is of Tigray origin.
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