Kenyan Activists Abducted in Uganda, Opposition Leader Says
NAIROBI/KAMPALA – Two Kenyan human rights activists have gone missing in Uganda after reportedly being abducted by armed men while attending opposition leader Bobi Wine’s campaign event.
Bobi Wine strongly condemned the “abduction” of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, saying the pair had been “picked up mafia-style” at a petrol station and driven off to an unknown destination on Wednesday afternoon.
The pop star-turned-politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, accused the Ugandan government of targeting the two Kenyans for associating with him. “We condemn the continuing lawlessness by the rogue regime and demand that these brothers are released unconditionally! The criminal regime apparently abducted them simply for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our cause!” he posted on X.
Ugandan authorities have denied holding the activists. Police spokesman Kituma Rusoke told the BBC the two were not in police custody, suggesting media “reach out to any other [security] agency maybe, just in case.” Army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said he could not speak about allegations involving non-uniformed “security operatives” and challenged Bobi Wine to prove his claims.
A witness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, described seeing four armed men force the pair into a vehicle. “There were four of them. There was also a lady who was seated in front; they took Bob and Oyoo Ochieng,” the witness told Kenya’s Citizen TV, adding that both men have been unreachable since.
The incident has drawn concern from human rights organizations and the Kenyan government. In a joint open letter, the Law Society of Kenya, Amnesty International Kenya and Vocal Africa called it “yet another alarming case in a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances” in the region.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen confirmed that foreign affairs officials were working to secure the activists’ release. “It is the duty of the government of Kenya to protect its citizens in any part of the world,” Murkomen said.
This is not the first time Njagi has been targeted – he was abducted in Kenya last year by masked men and held for over a month before resurfacing under court order.
The case mirrors other recent incidents in East Africa, including the detention of activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania earlier this year, and the mysterious disappearance of Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye from Nairobi last year, who later surfaced in a Ugandan military court.
The pattern has sparked concerns that East African governments may be collaborating to contain dissent across borders.
