Kenyan Activists Abducted in Uganda After Attending Bobi Wine’s Opposition Rally

Tension is rising between Kenya and Uganda after two Kenyan activists were abducted in Uganda following their participation in a campaign rally for opposition leader and reggae artist Bobi Wine. The disappearance of Bob Njagi, chair of Free Kenya, and Nicholas Oyoo, the group’s secretary general, has drawn outrage from human rights organizations across East Africa.

Witnesses said heavily armed security operatives detained the two men at a petrol station near Kampala on Wednesday afternoon. Some of the officers wore police uniforms, while others were in plain clothes. Their arrest came just two days after they crossed the border to attend Bobi Wine’s campaign events in eastern Uganda.

Njagi and Oyoo had reportedly travelled to Uganda to show solidarity with Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu as he campaigns against President Yoweri Museveni ahead of the upcoming January elections. A video shared online showed Njagi standing beside Wine at a rally on Tuesday, applauding the crowd as the opposition leader addressed supporters.

By Wednesday, both men had vanished. According to Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan lawyer and government critic, the pair was taken by security agents shortly after arriving in Kampala. “They attended the first rally in eastern Uganda and later returned to the capital. Two of them were picked up by security operatives, and up to now, their whereabouts remain unknown,” Atuhaire said.

She described the incident as part of a wider pattern of transborder repression that has become increasingly common in East Africa. “This is another example of how security forces in the region cooperate to silence critics. It is disturbing and dangerous,” she said.

Atuhaire herself, along with Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, was detained in Tanzania in 2021 while attending an event in support of an opposition politician. Both alleged that they were beaten and tortured before being abandoned at their countries’ borders. The pair later filed a legal complaint against Tanzanian authorities, accusing them of “sexual torture” and unlawful detention.

The latest incident comes amid growing concerns over shrinking democratic space in the region. Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale were detained in Kenya last November before Besigye was charged with treason in a Ugandan military court. Critics say such actions show coordination among regional governments to suppress dissent across borders.

Atuhaire believes the recent abductions are politically motivated. “It points to two possible scenarios,” she said. “Either the three authoritarian leaders in East Africa are working together to crack down on activists and journalists, or they fear a united East African opposition movement or perhaps both.”

This is not the first time Njagi has faced abduction. Last year, masked men seized him in Nairobi during a wave of kidnappings targeting critics of the Kenyan government. He was held incommunicado for 32 days before being released. Supporters say his advocacy for economic reform and transparent governance has made him a target for powerful interests.

Bobi Wine, 43, who leads Uganda’s National Unity Platform, condemned the latest abductions in a statement posted on X. “We condemn the continuing lawlessness by the rogue regime and demand that these brothers be released unconditionally,” he wrote. “They were abducted simply for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our cause.”

Human rights groups in both Kenya and Uganda have called for immediate investigations into the activists’ disappearance. The Kenya Human Rights Commission urged Nairobi to press Kampala for answers, describing the abduction as “a grave violation of regional and international law.”

Meanwhile, Uganda’s police spokesperson, Rusoke Kituuma, has not responded to repeated calls for comment, and the government has yet to issue a formal statement. Local media outlets say authorities in Kampala have imposed tight restrictions on coverage of Bobi Wine’s campaign, which has drawn massive crowds despite frequent interference from security forces.

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, has ruled Uganda since 1986, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in the world. His government has been widely accused of suppressing dissent, restricting press freedom, and manipulating elections to maintain power.

Observers say the detention of foreign activists could further strain Uganda’s relations with its neighbors. Diplomatic analysts warn that such incidents undermine East Africa’s push for regional integration and could inflame tensions between pro-democracy groups and ruling regimes.

As of Friday, the whereabouts of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo remain unknown. Families, colleagues, and supporters continue to plead for information, while opposition leaders in both countries vow to keep public attention on the case. For now, their disappearance adds another chapter to the deepening crisis of human rights and political freedom in East Africa.