
KAMPALA, Uganda – A case of alleged abduction has sparked a diplomatic and human rights crisis in East Africa, as two Kenyan activists remain missing after being seized in Uganda earlier this month.
Kenyan human rights defenders Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were reportedly abducted by armed men at a petrol station in Kampala on October 1, 2025. The two were in Uganda to express solidarity with Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose “National Unity Platform” is a key rival to President Yoweri Museveni’s long-standing government.
According to reports from regional advocates and a social media post by Bobi Wine himself, the two men are being held in incommunicado detention at a Ugandan military base. Their disappearance has prompted urgent legal and diplomatic actions, including petitions to the Uganda Human Rights Commission and a habeas corpus filing in Uganda’s High Court to compel the authorities to produce them.
In a post on X, Bobi Wine condemned the “rogue regime” for refusing to release the activists, framing the incident as part of a broader pattern of suppressing dissent. “Their crime? Coming to Uganda to express solidarity with our cause for democratic governance,” he stated, adding that this has been the fate of “thousands of our supporters.”
The situation has drawn the attention of the Kenyan government, which has joined regional human rights advocates in demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the two men. The case has brought cross-border human rights issues in East Africa into sharp focus, raising concerns about the treatment of foreign nationals engaged in political activism within the region.
As of now, the Ugandan government has not issued an official statement addressing the specific allegations or confirming the whereabouts of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo.