Kampala, Uganda – Monday, October 6, 2025 — Six days after Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were abducted in broad daylight in Kampala, Ugandan authorities have broken their silence, denying any knowledge of their whereabouts.
Speaking to journalists, Uganda Police Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said that the missing men were not in police custody and that he had not received any formal report about their disappearance.
“Kenyan activists who came to join a rally in Uganda and are alleged to have disappeared — I am not briefed by police that they have them in our custody,” Rusoke told reporters.
“At the moment, I don’t have any information to the effect that they are in police custody, nor do I have any information that they are accused by police. If I had, I would volunteer it here without any reservation.”
Rusoke further stated that police had not been notified officially about the missing activists, adding that there was no record indicating that the duo had been detained or accused of any crime.
Human Rights Lawyers File Court Petition
Even as authorities maintained their denial, two Ugandan lawyers, backed by human rights defenders, filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court’s Civil Division in Kampala.
The application seeks to compel the government to produce the two missing Kenyans in court, naming top security officials — including the Chief of Defence Forces, Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security, Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General of Uganda — as respondents.
According to the petitioners, the two activists are being illegally detained at a military intelligence facility in Mbuya, a suburb in Kampala.
Growing Concern Over Cross-Border Abductions
The case has reignited concerns among regional human rights groups about the rise in cross-border abductions and enforced disappearances within East Africa.
Civil society organizations in both Kenya and Uganda have demanded accountability, urging the East African Community (EAC) to address what they describe as a growing culture of impunity targeting activists and journalists.
The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
