Wednesday 22, October 2025 {HMC} Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo are still missing after Ugandan authorities failed to present the two in court on Tuesday as ordered.
Instead, the matter was postponed to Wednesday at 8am, while the state was required to account in writing on the status of the duo by the end of the day.
This is despite the ongoing multi-pronged pressure on Ugandan authorities, involving protests by civil society groups, diplomatic attempts by the Kenyan government and the legal interventions in Kampala.
Njagi, the chairman of the Free Kenya Movement and secretary general Oyoo were allegedly abducted on October 1, as they attended an opposition campaign rally for Robert Kyangulanyi in Kampala. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Amnesty International Kenya on Tuesday released an online petition calling for the release of the two activists.
In the petition, Amnesty noted that for days, the families of Njagi and Oyoo have lived in fear and uncertainty, desperate for news of their safety.
“Every moment without answers deepens the pain, the worry and the injustice,” Amnesty said.
The petition called on President Yoweri Museveni to, among others, immediately disclose the whereabouts of Njagi and Oyoo, ensure their safety, well-being, release and return to Kenya.
It also called on the Ugandan government to guarantee their right to legal representation and communication with their families.
“Investigate the circumstances of their abduction and hold those responsible accountable. Uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, rights protected under Ugandan, East African and international human rights law,” the petition added.
Civil society groups in Kenya and Uganda such as the Law Society of Kenya, Defenders Coalition and Freedom Hive Uganda, have condemned the abduction through statements and protests.
The demonstrations were particularly called by Kongamano La Mapinduzi, the 6.25 Movement, Mosquito Liberation Movement, NUP Kenya Chapter, Vocal Africa and Free Movement Kenya, among others at the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi.
There has also been a legal approach with Ugandan lawyers Eron Kiiza and Kato Tumusiime filing a habeas corpus application at the High Court Civil Division in Kampala on October 6.
The petition named Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Inspector-General of Police and Attorney General as respondents.
On October 14, Justice Peter Kinobe of the Kampala High Court issued a court order compelling the Ugandan government to produce Njagi and Oyoo dead or alive within seven days.
Yesterday marked the deadline to comply with the court order.
The Kenyan government has also, through diplomatic channels, twice sought answers on the whereabouts of the duo from its counterparts in Kampala. The interventions are also yet to bear fruit.
Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda Ambassador Joash Maangi met Uganda Foreign Affairs PS Vincent Waiswa to discuss the alleged abduction.
“The PS assured us that the government is working swiftly to resolve the matter,” Maangi said in a social media post.
The meeting followed a diplomatic protest letter on October 3, in which the Kenyan High Commission in Kampala informed Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Njagi and Oyoo were abducted by armed men around Kireka in Kampala, with their whereabouts remaining unknown.
“The Mission requests the Ministry’s assistance in liaising with the relevant authorities in Kampala to obtain information regarding the current situation of the missing Kenyans in order for the Mission to take appropriate action in securing their release and safe return to Kenya,” the note verbale read.
Source The Star
