Activist Mwabili Mwagodi remains in custody at Port Police Station in Mombasa, two days after being intercepted at the Lunga Lunga border crossing while attempting to travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Rights groups and colleagues say police have not disclosed any official reason for his arrest beyond citing “orders from above.”
According to information shared on X by activist Hussein Khalid, the Executive Director of Vocal Africa, Mwagodi was en route to Tanzania to “clear with his former employer and get his dues” when he was stopped and detained on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
Khalid’s update indicated that Mwagodi is now awaiting transportation to Nairobi. To Continue Reading, ...Click Here
Mwagodi’s ordeal began at the Lunga Lunga border post where immigration officials prevented him from leaving Kenya, reportedly due to an alleged Red Notice linked to his passport.
According to Khalid Mwabili has denied being informed of any specific offence or charge, saying authorities did not explain why the notice was issued or what the basis of the arrest was.
After being denied exit, he was handed over to border police and taken into custody.
Local officers said they were waiting for instructions from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi on how to proceed, but, by Monday morning, no charges had been communicated to the activist.
Mwagodi previously made national headlines in July 2025 when he disappeared in Dar es Salaam under unclear circumstances and was later found abandoned near the Kenyan border.
At the time, rights groups characterised his disappearance as a possible enforced disappearance, drawing regional attention to the safety of civic activists
Civil society organisations, including Vocal Africa, have criticised the continued detention without clear charges as a violation of constitutional rights and due process, demanding that authorities either charge Mwagodi promptly or release him.