Uganda High Court orders police to produce missing Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo within seven days

The High Court in Uganda has directed the country’s police to produce two missing Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, either dead or alive, within seven days.

Justice Peter Kinobe, during a habeas corpus hearing at the High Court Civil Division in Kampala, said the order was meant to uphold the activists’ constitutional rights following reports that they were being held unlawfully in a military detention facility.

Njagi and Oyoo were reportedly abducted on October 1, 2025, while attending a political rally in Uganda and have been missing for over two weeks. Human rights groups, including Freedom Hive Uganda, have condemned the incident, calling for transparency and accountability from the authorities.

“Earlier today, we attended the habeas corpus hearing of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo at the High Court Civil Division in Kampala. Justice Peter Kinobe ordered the government to produce Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, dead or alive, within seven days. The Honourable Judge expressed his commitment to upholding the constitutional rights of the two activists, who have been held in unlawful military detention for 14 days. We remain hopeful that the government will comply with the court order and release the activists,” Freedom Hive Uganda said on Tuesday.

Both the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have denied knowledge of the activists’ detention or location.

The ruling came a week after two Ugandan advocates filed a habeas corpus application on October 6, seeking the release of the Kenyan nationals, who were allegedly arrested in Kaliro District, eastern Uganda and detained at a military facility in Mbuya, Kampala.

The petitioners noted that Ugandan law requires anyone arrested to be presented before a court within 48 hours, a provision that has not been observed in this case.

On October 6, the Uganda National Police (UNP) denied involvement in the abduction, saying it had no information linking its officers to the disappearance of the two Kenyan activists.

“On the matter of the two Kenyan activists who disappeared in Uganda, I am not briefed by the police that we have them in our custody. So at the moment, I do not have any information to the effect that they are in police custody,” UNP spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke said during a State of Security briefing.

“If I had any information on the whereabouts of the two activists, I would present it here without any reservation.”

Njagi and Oyoo were allegedly abducted near a petrol station in Busoga Sub-region, where they had gone to meet National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

Witnesses reported that plain-clothed gunmen, some believed to be military operatives, forced the duo into a Toyota Hiace van, commonly referred to as a “drone”, and drove them to an undisclosed location.

Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) chairperson, Mariam Wangadya, confirmed that the commission had received a petition from the families of the two men but stated that her office could not act on the matter because it is already before the courts.

“They applied for habeas corpus in the High Court. Article 53 of the Constitution bars us from intervening in any matter that is in court, and the moment you file a court action about any matter, then you have taken us out of jurisdiction,” Wangadya told the Daily Monitor.

She quoted Article 53(4)(a) of the Constitution, which states, “The [Uganda Human Rights] Commission shall not investigate any matter which is pending before a court or judicial tribunal.”

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“Before I even look at their petition, since they filed a court case, we cannot intervene. Whatever order I may give or investigation I may take, it will be of no legal consequence by virtue of these provisions,” she added.

Her remarks followed a petition submitted to the UHRC by a group of activists, including the detainees’ brothers, Nobert Ochieng Opeto and Tony Njagi, along with colleagues James Ssuuna and John Owor Masanja. The group urged the commission to compel security agencies to disclose the whereabouts of the missing Kenyans.

“We are calling upon the Human Rights Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest and continued incommunicado detention of the two men who had come to attend a campaign rally,” Opeto said.

“On behalf of the family, we are also demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Oyoo and Njagi from unlawful custody at a military facility.”

As of Tuesday evening, the respondents, led by the Attorney General, had not filed a response to the habeas corpus application, even as the matter proceeded to a hearing.