British citizens and several Turkish nationals were kidnapped in Kenya

A British citizen told the BBC that he and several Turkish citizens were kidnapped by masked men in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday, with four Turkish citizens still missing.

Necdet Seyitoğlu, who lived in Britain for 18 years before moving to Kenya two years ago, said he was released eight hours after showing his alleged kidnappers a copy of his British passport.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said it was “providing consular assistance to a British man and his family following an incident in Kenya”.

Kenyan police told the BBC they were investigating a “kidnapping case” after a motorcyclist witnessed the kidnapping.

According to the report, two vehicles blocked and blocked from the front and rear a silver saloon with two occupants.

“About eight armed people got out of two cars, pulled the two people in the car out” and drove away with them, Kenya police spokeswoman Resila Onyango said.

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

Turkish authorities have yet to comment on the case.

Mr. Seyitoğlu, an educational consultant, provided more details about what he said happened during the kidnapping ordeal, some of which differed from the police account.

He described a white SUV blocking his car as he was leaving home for work with a friend at 07:30 local time (04:30 GMT).

He said the pair were blindfolded and handcuffed by four armed men before being chased to an unknown location.

Repeated requests about what was happening went unanswered, he said.

“We asked them, can you show your identification? Where are we going? But we didn’t get any explanation,” the 49-year-old man said.

Mr. Seyitoğlu added: “It was the worst experience of my life.”

He said he was eventually able to convince his alleged kidnappers that he was a British citizen by showing them a copy of his passport on this phone.

He said after taking the photo, the men received a call apparently asking for his release.

The masked men, who Mr Seyitoğlu said spoke Swahili, then dropped him off at a place he did not recognize and gave him 1,000 shillings ($7.50; £6) for transport home, but refused to return his phone and laptop.

During this time, Mr. Seyitoğlu said his wife reported him missing and informed the British High Commission.

Mr Seyitoğlu said six other people he knew – all Turkish citizens – were also kidnapped in the same way from different locations in Nairobi.

A local law firm, Mukele & Kakai, said in a statement that it represented four men who had registered as refugees and warned airlines not to allow them on flights.

“Our clients were kidnapped in Kenya with the intention of being deported to Türkiye, where they were victims of political persecution,” the BBC said.

This was also echoed by advocacy group Amnesty International, whose spokesman in Kenya said he was “deeply concerned by reports that seven asylum seekers from Türkiye have been arrested.” toads in Kenya”.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, told the BBC it was “aware of the reports and will provide further information when we have it”.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty