The Law Society of Kenya, Vocal Africa, and Amnesty International have confirmed that the whereabouts of Kenyan activists abducted in Uganda remain unknown, more than 24 hours after their disappearance.
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 2, the three organizations strongly condemned the abduction of human rights defenders Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were seized in Kampala on Wednesday while participating in opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi's campaign activities.
The 3 organizations have called on Ugandan authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo and ensure their safety, well-being, release, and return to Kenya.
The organizations are demanding that the authorities guarantee the activists' right to legal representation and communication with their families, investigate the circumstances of their abduction and hold those responsible accountable, and uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, which are protected under both Ugandan and international human rights law.
The organizations further urged the Kenyan government to actively engage with Ugandan authorities to ensure the safe release of its citizens and to ensure that cross-border activism is not criminalized or violently suppressed.
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"The Law Society of Kenya, Vocal Africa, and Amnesty International Kenya will continue to seek the protection and release of Bob Njagi, Nicholas Oyoo, their families, and all East Africans facing repression," the statement concluded.
The two activists traveled to Uganda on September 29 to show solidarity with Bobi Wine's opposition movement ahead of Uganda's 2026 presidential elections.
On September 30, they were spotted accompanying the National Unity Platform leader during campaign rallies in Buyende and Kamuli districts.
Bobi Wine, in his social media statement on Wednesday, accused the Ugandan government of orchestrating the kidnapping, claiming the activists were targeted simply for associating with him and expressing solidarity with his cause.
"The criminal regime apparently abducted them simply for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our cause!" Wine condemned what he described as "continuing lawlessness by the rogue regime."
The joint statement revealed that the activists were forcibly taken from a petrol station in Kireka, Kampala, in broad daylight by armed individuals believed to be Ugandan security operatives. Their mobile phones were immediately switched off, and their location remains unknown.
"Eyewitness accounts indicate that the activists were forcibly taken from a petrol station in Kireka, Kampala, in broad daylight and driven to an undisclosed location. Their mobile phones were immediately switched off, and their whereabouts remain unknown," the statement read.
The organizations noted that a third activist, who was briefly detained and later released, has expressed fear for his safety and uncertainty about the fate of his colleagues.
The statement highlighted that this incident is part of a troubling pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances targeting activists in East Africa.
"This latest incident represents yet another alarming case in a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances of East African activists, exposing the deepening crackdown on dissent in the region," the statement noted.
The organizations revealed that Bob Njagi has been previously targeted. In August 2024, Njagi and two brothers, Aslam and Jamil Longton, were forcibly disappeared in Kenya for over a month after participating in demonstrations against economic policies. They were held incommunicado, tortured, and later released.
Since then, Njagi has reportedly faced continued surveillance and harassment, placing him at heightened risk.
"His re-abduction across the border in Uganda is therefore a grave escalation, and it signals the persistence of state-linked repression intended to silence those demanding justice and accountability," the statement added.
