Bobi Wine Calls for Immediate Release of 2 Kenyan Activists Abducted in Uganda
- Christabel Adhiambo
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
Ugandan opposition leader and National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Bobi Wine has called for the immediate release of two Kenyan human rights activists who were allegedly abducted by armed men in Uganda on Wednesday afternoon.
The activists, Bob Njagi, Chairman of the Free Kenya Movement, and Nicholas Oyoo, the movement’s Secretary General were reportedly seized by four armed men in a grey van at a petrol station in Kireka, just outside Kampala, and driven to an unknown location.
Their mobile phones were switched off shortly after the incident, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
In a strongly worded statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Bobi Wine condemned what he described as a politically motivated abduction.
“We strongly condemn the abduction by armed operatives of Kenyan activists and human rights defenders Bob Njagi and Nicholas Ayoo.
The two were picked up mafia-style this afternoon from a petrol station in Kireka and driven off to an unknown destination,” he wrote.
“The criminal regime apparently abducted them simply for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our cause. We demand that these brothers are released unconditionally!”
Background to the Abduction
Njagi and Oyoo had travelled from Kenya to Uganda on Monday to join Bobi Wine’s campaign activities in Eastern Uganda. On Tuesday, they were seen on the campaign trail in Buyende and Kamuli districts where videos captured Njagi on stage with Bobi Wine and moving with his entourage.
On Wednesday, while stopping to repair their vehicle at a petrol station, the group was intercepted. A third Kenyan activist who was with them described how four armed men emerged from a van and took Njagi and Oyoo at gunpoint. A woman was also seen in the front seat of the vehicle.
The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was briefly detained but later released. He has not reported the incident to authorities, fearing for his own safety.
“I don’t know where Bob is. I don’t know which police station he has been taken to. I honestly don’t know where he is. I'm just stranded here,” he said.
No Official Response Yet
Neither the Ugandan nor Kenyan governments have issued any official statements on the abductions. The silence has drawn criticism from civil society groups who are now demanding answers and urgent intervention.
This is not the first time Bob Njagi has been targeted. In 2024, he was abducted alongside the Longton brothers in Kenya over alleged involvement in anti-government protests, and held incommunicado for over a month.
The case has also drawn parallels to a similar cross-border incident earlier this year when Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were arrested in Tanzania, allegedly mistreated, and later dumped near their respective borders.
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