Reports of two Kenyan human rights defenders abducted in Kampala are fueling concerns over cross-border safety for activists working in East Africa.
The two men, Bob Nyagi and Nicholas Ayoo of the Free Kenya Movement, were reportedly taken by armed men from a fuel station in Kireka on Wednesday, shortly after arriving to meet Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi reacted sharply to the incident, accusing governments in the region of turning abductions into a tool of repression.
Writing on X, he said, “East African governments continue to abduct and disappear activists and human rights defenders. The Ugandan government abducted two Kenyan activists visiting to meet Bobi Wine. They should be freed along with jailed political activists.”
The incident comes at a time when regional governments are under scrutiny for their handling of political dissent.
Observers say the Kampala abductions highlight a worrying trend where state agencies extend intimidation tactics across borders, exposing foreign activists to the same risks faced by local opposition figures.
Bobi Wine, who was the first to announce the disappearance, condemned what he described as “mafia-style” operations designed to scare away international solidarity.
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