Kenyan activists seized 'mafia-style' in Uganda, whereabouts unknown

Fear as Kenyan activists seized ‘mafia-style’ in Uganda, whereabouts unknown

The duo had travelled to neighbouring country to join Bobi Wine's campaign.

Civil society organisations fear for their safety after they were picked by four armed men.

Two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were on Wednesday abducted in Uganda under unclear circumstances.

The two, leaders of the Free Kenya Movement, had travelled to Uganda to join Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, the country’s opposition leader on his presidential campaign trail.

Witnesses said the two were seized from a petrol station in Kireka, East of Kampala, where they had stopped mechanical check on their car.

At around 3pm a van pulled up and four armed men alighted. Since then, their whereabouts remain unknown, with civil society organisations fearing for their safety. Their phones were reportedly switched off moments after the abduction.

Bobi Wine, who has long accused the Museveni government of using abductions and intimidation against political opponents, posted on X: “The two were picked up mafia-style this afternoon from a petrol station in Kireka and driven off to an unknown destination! 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!” 

This is not the first time Njagi has fallen victim to enforced disappearance. In August 2024, he and brothers Aslam and Jamil Longton were abducted in Nairobi.

They were held incommunicado for over 30 days, tortured and released without charge. Since then, Njagi had spoken publicly about surveillance, harassment and threats, which he said placed him at constant risk.

Civil society organisations through a joint statement, noted that his re-abduction across the border represents a dangerous escalation in the pattern of regional repression.

On Thursday, Amnesty International Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya and Vocal Africa wrote an open letter to Uganda’s Acting High Commissioner to Kenya, Ambassador Eunice Kigenyi.

“This latest incident represents yet another alarming case in a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances of East African activists, exposing the deepening crackdown on dissent in the region,” the letter reads.

They urged Ugandan authorities to disclose whereabouts of the two Kenyans, guarantee their right to legal representation and communication with their families, and hold those responsible accountable.

The groups also called on Kenyan government to intervene and secure the release of its citizens and ensure cross-border activism is not criminalised or violently suppressed.

Lawyer Steve Mbugua, a council member of the LSK, placed the incident within what he described as a regional crisis of abductions and state-sanctioned repression.

“These abductions are not confined to Kenya. They have occurred in Tanzania and Uganda, creating a dangerous precedent across East Africa. Our president and presidents of East African countries alike have no respect for human rights, and that is why you never see them address such issues,” Mbugua said.

He stated that the pattern undermines regional security and erodes rule of law, adding that the abduction symbolises the erosion of constitutional freedoms under political classes more concerned with retaining power than protecting rights.

Mbugua pledged that the legal profession would resist the culture of impunity through petitions, data collection on victims, and relentless pursuit of justice in the courts.

The civil society linked the abductions of Njagi and Oyoo to a wider pattern of cross-border intimidation and enforced disappearances. Between 2024 and 2025, at least a dozen high-profile cases of abductions involving activists, journalists, and opposition figures have been documented across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

In July 2025, Kenyan activist Mwabili Mwagodi was abducted in Dar es Salaam and later dumped in Kwale, Kenya.

In May 2025, activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were seized in Tanzania where they went to observe opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s trial. They were tortured before release.

In April 2025, nine Ugandan youth environmentalists were arrested under common nuisance charges for protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

In November 2024, Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and deported to Uganda to face treason charges.

Such cases, activists argue, represent not just local crackdowns but a form of transnational repression, in which governments collaborate or allow operatives to silence dissenters across borders.