Keypoints:
- Kenyan activists abducted during Bobi Wine rally
- Rights groups demand answers from Uganda
- Police deny holding missing campaigners
TWO Kenyan human rights activists have disappeared in Uganda after reportedly being abducted by armed men while attending a campaign event for opposition leader Bobi Wine.
The activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were seized on Wednesday at a petrol station in Kampala before being bundled into a vehicle and driven to an unknown destination. Bobi Wine, who is preparing to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda’s 2026 elections, condemned the incident, calling it a deliberate attack on his supporters.
‘We condemn the continuing lawlessness by the rogue regime and demand that these brothers are released unconditionally,’ Wine wrote on X. ‘The criminal regime apparently abducted them simply for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our cause.’
Ugandan police deny custody
Ugandan police spokesman Kituma Rusoke told the BBC the activists were not in police custody, adding that ‘any other [security] agency’ might be responsible. Army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said he could not confirm the reports, insisting Wine must prove which security agency carried out the abduction.
Ugandan security services have often faced accusations of abducting opposition supporters while operating out of uniform. Several detainees have later resurfaced in court charged with criminal offences.
Rights groups demand answers
The Law Society of Kenya, Amnesty International Kenya and Vocal Africa issued a joint letter to the Ugandan High Commission in Nairobi, calling the disappearances ‘yet another alarming case in a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances’ in East Africa.
They urged Ugandan authorities to disclose the whereabouts of Njagi and Oyoo and guarantee their safety. Kenyan official Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the incident when asked by the BBC.
Eyewitness testimony
A fellow activist told Kenya’s Citizen TV that four armed men carried out the abduction. ‘There were four of them. There was also a lady who was seated in front; they took Bob and Oyoo Ochieng, who is the secretary general of the Free Kenya Movement,’ the witness said.
The pair had travelled to Uganda on Monday with a group of supporters to join Bobi Wine’s campaign. Videos shared online show Njagi on stage with the opposition leader.
History of enforced disappearances
Njagi has previously been abducted. In 2024, masked men seized him in Kenya during a wave of disappearances targeting government critics. He was held incommunicado for more than a month before resurfacing after a court ordered his release, later describing being isolated and denied food.
Other recent cases highlight a worrying regional pattern. Earlier this year, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania, held incommunicado, and later dumped at their respective national borders. They reported severe mistreatment, claims Tanzanian police dismissed as baseless.
In another incident last year, veteran Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye vanished in Nairobi and reappeared four days later in a Ugandan military court facing treason charges.
Regional fears grow
Analysts say the latest disappearances suggest East African governments may be cooperating to silence opposition voices. With Museveni, 80, preparing to extend his nearly four-decade rule, rights groups warn that the abductions of Njagi and Oyoo signal growing intolerance of dissent ahead of the 2026 vote.
