Human rights commission condemns Kizza Besigye's alleged abduction in Nairobi

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has condemned the alleged abduction of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi on Sunday and subsequent deportation to his home country where he is reported to be in military detention.

The commission spoke while issuing a report on the state of Human Rights in the country for the period between July 2023 and November this year.

"We condemn any form of abduction of those people who seek asylum in our country. Kenya is a country that respects its obligations and we want to call upon the government not to deport those people who are seeking asylum in our country. They should abide by international law that requires them to respect the law, and so in relation to that matter, we take exception working with other human rights institutions, our sister commission in Uganda, we will get in touch so we see how we can ensure that our region is compliant in terms of human rights," said Dr Raymond Nyeris, KNCHR deputy vice chairperson.

Besigye had visited Nairobi to attend NARC-Kenya leader Martha Karua's book launch in Nairobi on Sunday evening.

However, on Wednesday morning, his wife, Winnie Byanyima tweeted that he was missing.

"I request the government of Uganda to release my husband Dr Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately. He was kidnapped last Saturday while in Nairobi for Hon Marth Karua's book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala. We, his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?" she posed in a tweet that ignited reactions both in Kenya and Uganda.

Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing'Oei refuted claims that Nairobi was involved in the opposition leader's capture as Uganda remained quiet over his whereabouts.

"There is no reason whatsoever for Kenya to be party to his arrest, if any," the PS said.

The incident is the latest of a series of similar arrests in Nairobi of persons considered political dissidents in their countries.

Last month, four Turkish nationals who had been residing in Kenya as refugees were deported back to their country at the request of Ankara.

According to Amnesty International, the four Alpaslan Tasci, Mustafa Genc, Huseyin Yesila and Ozturk Uzun had sought Kenya's protection but were instead held and returned home, signalling growing concerns over the safety of asylum seekers in Kenya.

Despite assurances from PS Sing'Oei that the four would be handled with dignity in their country, human rights organisations condemned the move saying it directly violated the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the Kenyan constitution amongst other conventions.

In February last year, South Sudanese refugee Mabior Awikjok Bak was abducted in Nairobi by men said to have been in Kenyan uniform.

Two months later, in May, Rwandan human rights defender Yusuf Ahmed Gasana was abducted in Nairobi and forcefully returned to Rwanda a year ago but is yet to be seen by his family.

In October 2022, Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif (49) was shot and killed in Kajiado two months after fleeing his home in what police claimed was a case of "mistaken identity" that was widely believed to be an act of political assassination as he was facing sedition charges back at home.

In 2021 Nnamdi Kanu, a separatist leader from Nigeria, was arrested at Nairobi's JKIA while transiting to London and handed over to his country's Intelligence Services.