Mombasa police accused of blocking Mwabili Mwagodi from filing torture complaint after abduction in Tanzania
Officers allegedly directed Mwagodi to file the complaint at Diani Police Station, arguing it was his first point of contact upon re-entering Kenya.
Rights group, VOCAL Africa, has criticised officers at Central Police Station in Mombasa for allegedly refusing to record a torture complaint filed by activist Mwabili Mwagodi, who was abducted in Tanzania and later found in Kwale County.
VOCAL Africa CEO Hussein Khalid said his team, alongside MUHURI and Haki Africa, accompanied Mwagodi and his family to the station to report the incident, but police declined to issue an Occurrence Book (OB) number.
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Officers allegedly directed Mwagodi to file the complaint at Diani Police Station, arguing it was his first point of contact upon re-entering Kenya.
“We want to remind the police that a Kenyan can report a matter at any police station. Once reported, the police should then escalate the matter to the relevant station,” Hussein said in a statement posted on X.
Activist Mwabili Mwagodi, who was abducted in Tanzania and later found in Kwale County, accompanied by his family. (Farhiya Hussein)
The rights group said it proceeded with Mwagodi to Diani to prevent police from using jurisdictional technicalities as an excuse to ignore the case.
“I’ve come home to seek justice, yet I’ve been blocked from filing even a basic OB report,” Mwagodi said, adding that he now relies on legal counsel to decide his next steps.
Accompanied by fellow activists and family members, Mwagodi expressed fears for his safety, claiming he has been under surveillance by unidentified individuals. He also recalled a chilling warning, allegedly from foreign intelligence agents: “Protect yourself, try to hold on. They warned me to stay alert and survive until 2027.”
Mwagodi, who says his life remains in danger, recounted being abducted on July 23 between 8 pm and 8:30 pm by four men in Tanzania.
He said his captors blindfolded him, confiscated his documents, and held him in a dark room for interrogation. Later, they took him to his workplace, broke in, and seized his phone and laptop.
While under armed guard, Mwagodi said he was restrained with handcuffs and blindfolds and threatened repeatedly, especially regarding his views on President William Ruto.
“They kept pressing me about what issues I had with the president,” he recalled. “At one point, they warned me to cooperate or face beatings.”
He described being dumped near a forest after the ordeal, bleeding from stab wounds and disoriented. “I wandered for hours before regaining my bearings and eventually walked around 3,000 steps until I found someone who could help,” he said.
Khelef Khalifa, Director of Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), accused the Kenyan government of colluding with Tanzanian authorities to suppress dissent.
“This confirms suspicions that the two governments are working together. Activists are being arrested and tortured, and where Kenyan forces can’t act directly, they’re outsourcing the job to Tanzania,” Khelef said.
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