Ugandan authorities deny holding missing Kenyan activists

Ugandan authorities have denied detaining two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were reported missing in Kampala last week, amid growing calls for their release.

Uganda Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told journalists on Monday that there was no record of the two being in police custody.

“I am not briefed by the police that they are in our custody. At the moment, I don’t have any information to the effect, nor do I have any information that they are accused by the police. If I had, I would volunteer it here without any reservation,” said Rusoke. 

He added that police had not received any official report regarding the disappearance of the two activists.

“I also don’t know if it has been reported formally that they are lost or missing persons. I don’t have that information,” he said.

As the search continues, two Ugandan lawyers have filed an application before the High Court’s Civil Division in Kampala, seeking to compel authorities to produce the missing Kenyans in court.

Back at home, the Defenders Coalition has called for urgent state intervention and demanded the unconditional release of the activists.

“The Defenders Coalition joins the human rights community in condemning this continued lawlessness, violations and abuses by suspected state operatives and demands the immediate release of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo,” the coalition said in a statement. 

The group has urged the Kenyan government, through the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, to engage Ugandan authorities to establish the activists’ whereabouts and ensure their prompt release.

Njagi and Oyoo reportedly disappeared on October 1 while at a petrol station in Kampala. Witnesses said they were forced into an unregistered vehicle that sped off to an unknown location.

Rights groups say the incident fits a worrying pattern of rights defenders across East Africa being targeted, abducted, and detained illegally.

In November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was reportedly abducted in Nairobi and deported to Kampala, where he appeared before a military court under heavy escort. 

In May this year, Ugandan activists Boniface Mwabgi and Agathaire Atuhaire were abducted and held in Tanzania for several weeks.

In another incident, Tanzanian journalist and activist Maria Sarungi was abducted and assaulted by unknown individuals in Nairobi.

The Defenders Coalition vowed to continue advocating for the protection of human rights defenders across the region.

“We will not relent in our commitment to protect and support defenders in Kenya and beyond,” the statement said.