Human rights groups in Kenya report that two activists who disappeared in Uganda five weeks ago have been found alive. Eyewitnesses had seen Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo being forcibly taken by masked men after a political event supporting Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine.
On Saturday, the activist group Vocal Africa confirmed their safety as they were transported from Busia in Uganda back to Nairobi, Kenya. Let this moment signal an important shift towards upholding the human rights of East Africans anywhere in East African Community, the organization stated on Instagram.
Despite the Ugandan police denying custody of the activists, pressure from Kenyan rights groups led to their eventual release. Vocal Africa, alongside the Law Society of Kenya and Amnesty International, thanked everyone involved in the campaign for their liberation.
Bobi Wine, the opposition figure whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is actively campaigning against long-time president Yoweri Museveni. He suggested the Ugandan government targeted the two Kenyans due to their support for his cause.
This incident is part of a troubling trend in East Africa, where opposition members are often abducted and detained by security forces. Activists have raised alarms about the regional collaboration among governments to suppress dissent.
In previous incidents, Njagi himself was seized and held in a similar wave of abductions against critics in Kenya.
Njagi has openly recounted the horrors he faced during his prior detention. The reappearance of both activists brings hope but underscores a continued struggle for rights and freedom in the region.
