How EAC leaders are turning to armies for political shield

The abduction and torture of two Kenyans in a Ugandan military camp has once again raised alarm over the growing misuse of military institutions by East African governments.

Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were kidnapped in September and held for 38 days in military custody after being kidnapped at a petrol station in Uganda.

The two revealed that they were abducted by a Ugandan military surveillance team.

“It is the military surveillance team that is doing this operation. It is in charge of all the abductions in Uganda,” said Njagi.

He said the unit is commanded by the head of counter intelligence from the special forces command under the Uganda People’s Defense Forces.

“The special forces command is a private security team of the army trained to protect the first family. So they are above other military wings and they are next to none in terms of power,” Njagi said.

“They can conduct their activities of terror without being subjected to any accountability. This is the team that abducted us,” Njagi added.

Human rights organisations and legal experts say the growing use of military resources could erode civilian control in the East African states.

“As Amnesty International, we are increasingly concerned about the use of military operations, military assets, and military resources to essentially enforce civilian behaviour,” said Irungu Houghton, Executive Director Amnesty International-Kenya.

Tanzania elections

Rights groups state that East African states seem to be normalising the use of the military in political affairs arguing that it is not just a security concern but a constitutional crisis in the making.

“It is a sign of what we call failed states. Oyoo and Ngagi are fairly harmless and young men whose only offense was that they attempted what they do better beyond the border,” said Eric Okeyo, a security expert.

In Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu’s government deployed the military to the streets after imposing a curfew and shut down the internet following protests during elections.

The protests left hundreds of Tanzanians and foreigners dead with fears that the government could have buried bodies in mass graves to conceal the extent of the violence meted against protestors by security agencies.

Suluhu was later declared the winner, garnering more than 98 per cent of the votes. She would later be sworn in a low-key military-owned facility.

“She is the Commander-in-Chief to warrant presiding over her ceremony in a military camp but the perceptions are that her win was so illegitimate to the extent that the people could not preside over an illegitimate election. The people could not legitimise her win by attending her swearing in ceremony,” said Thuku Mburu, program officer at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya section.

Videos and images of bodies of people allegedly killed by security agencies were recorded by human rights groups. As a result of the violence, Tanzanians and foreigners fled to other countries, including Kenya, for safety.

Already there are fears that there could be Tanzanian security operatives deployed to Kenya to gather intelligence on Tanzanians who fled the country.

Gen Z protests

In Kenya, human rights groups and security experts argue that President William Ruto’s administration has increasingly relied on military resources to manage political matters.

During the June 2024 Gen Z protests, Kenya Defense Forces officers were deployed to the streets by the then Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.

The move attracted criticism from civil societies groups, legal experts and politicians over the legality of the deployment.

“The military are supposed to be deployed only when the state territorial integrity is in danger of attack from insurgents from outside the border,” said Okeyo.

He argued that such a move could contribute to instability.

“Who even knows they would have turned against the same government and supported the Gen Zs,” Okeyo said.

Early this year, Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya defended the decision to deploy the military to the streets insisting that the move was lawful and necessary to restore law and order

Article 241 of the constitution states that KDF may be deployed to restore peace in any part of Kenya affected by unrest or instability, but only with the approval of the National Assembly.

The law further states that “KDF shall assist and cooperate with other authorities in situations of emergency or disaster, and report to the National Assembly whenever deployed in such circumstances.”

Court case

Speaking when she appeared in the Senate, Tuya said the deployment of KDF soldiers on June 25, 2025 was done in line with Articles 238 and 241 of the constitution and the KDF Act.

“Participation in internal security operations are carefully guided by the Constitution and the KDF Act, which specify notifications through Gazette Notice,” Tuya said in the Senate.

She emphasized that authorization was sought prior to the deployment and that mandatory reports were furnished to the National Assembly.

The presence of the military personnel in the streets during the protests drew sharp criticism from the civil society, legal experts and politicians.

There has also been a push to have the Gazette Notice approving the deployment revoked.

“On the question of whether the deployment has been revoked, no, the deployment has not been revoked. There is a matter actively in court. The deployment of June 25th is in support of the National Police Service,” Tuya told senators in March 2025.

Irungu stated that the three governments, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, are civilian-led governments, based on the principle that the people elect leaders that they want to govern them through elections.

“The idea that, suddenly, that civilian responsibility should be handled or handed over to military commanders is anti-constitutional. It’s completely against the rule of law, and it’s against the idea that we still live in a region that cherishes liberal democracy, rule of law and human rights,” Houghton added.

“We need to arrest this trend of using the military to resolve political dissent. It is ultimately going to erode the right to civilian-led leadership and it will dismantle the overall context of governments that are rooted in the rule of law and also liberal democracy,” Irungu warned.

According to Mburu, the politicization of the military erodes the civilian control of the EA states warning that the events that happened in Tanzania could arise in Uganda’s elections in January 2026 and possible eruption of violence in Kenya’s elections in 2027 if the trend continues.

African Charter

Mburu added that handing over civilian oversight to the military violates the principle of the African Charter on Democracy, Relations and Governance, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- legal instruments that guarantee peace and security for individuals.

Mburu reiterated that events are not a mere confidence but a collision between the states.

“From the events that have been happening in the East African region, it is hard to say that it is pure coincidence,” he argued.

Donald Deya, CEO Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU), says militarization of domestic and political affairs contravenes the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).

He states that Article 14 of the legal instrument adopted by African states including Kenya mandates state parties to strengthen and institutionalize constitutional civilian control over the armed and security forces to enhance democracy and constitutional order.

“This trend of misuse of the military in partisan national political contexts is a violation of the broad letter and spirit of ACDEG, which repeatedly asserts the need for strong, inclusive political institutions,” said Deya.

The PALU CEO added that legitimacy to exercise executive power should only come from free, fair, inclusive and participatory elections. 

Deya added that cross-border co-operation and collusion is visible, citing the case of rendition of citizens between Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

“The political class are coordinating. Rogue security sector actors are coordinating and, mercifully, the citizens from across the region have also begun coordinating,” Deya added.