Missing Kenyan Activists Found Safe in Uganda After Five-Week Disappearance
Two Kenyan human rights activists, who vanished under suspicious circumstances in neighboring Uganda five weeks ago, have been located alive and are now safely returning home. The news brings a cautious sigh of relief to a region increasingly concerned about the transnational suppression of political dissent.
A Terrifying Abduction
According to eyewitness accounts, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were forcibly taken after attending a political event. Masked men in uniform were reported to have bundled the two into a vehicle. The event was in support of Ugandan opposition leader and presidential candidate Bobi Wine, who is challenging the long-standing rule of President Yoweri Museveni.
For more than a month, their whereabouts remained a mystery, despite Ugandan police denying they were in official custody. The situation prompted a vigorous campaign by Kenyan rights organizations demanding their release.
A Long-Awaited Resolution
The breakthrough came on Saturday when the activist organization Vocal Africa confirmed the men were safe and were being transported from the Ugandan border town of Busia to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
In a statement on Instagram, Vocal Africa framed the moment as a potential turning point, writing, “Let this moment signal an important shift towards upholding the human rights of East Africans anywhere in the East African Community.”
In a joint statement, Vocal Africa, the Law Society of Kenya, and Amnesty International extended gratitude to the Kenyan and Ugandan governments, as well as to activists, journalists, diplomats, and “all active citizens who have tirelessly campaigned for this moment.”
A Pattern of Political Targeting
Bobi Wine was quick to accuse the Ugandan government of specifically targeting the two Kenyans for their association with him. This incident is not an isolated one. Ugandan security agencies have frequently faced accusations of orchestrating the detention of opposition figures and their supporters while operating out of uniform. Many of those detained later resurface in court to face criminal charges.
For Bob Njagi, this ordeal is a grim case of déjà vu. Last year, he was abducted in Kenya by masked men during a wave of abductions targeting critics of the government. He was only produced in court a month later after a judicial order. He subsequently gave harrowing testimony about his captivity, describing periods of isolation and being denied food.
A Disturbing Regional Trend
The disappearances of Njagi and Oyoo fit a troubling pattern across East Africa, where activists and politicians often find themselves in the crosshairs of state machinery.
Earlier this year, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania and held incommunicado for days before being abandoned at their respective national borders. They later came forward with allegations of brutal mistreatment, including sexual torture, at the hands of Tanzanian authorities—claims that police dismissed as “hearsay.”
In another high-profile case last year, prominent Ugandan opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye mysteriously disappeared in Nairobi, only to reappear four days later in a Ugandan military court, where he now faces treason charges.
These successive incidents have sparked widespread condemnation and fueled concerns that East African governments may be collaborating to silence dissent, raising serious questions about the state of human rights and political freedom in the region.
Source: BBC News