KHRC: Mwabili Mwagodi was under surveillance prior to abduction in Tanzania
The commission claims he was targeted for leading a protest on June 23, 2024, during a church service in Nyahururu, Laikipia, where he criticised the administration of President William Ruto.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has condemned the abduction of Kenyan activist Mwabili Mwagodi in Tanzania, accusing Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities of coordinated repression aimed at silencing dissent.
Mwagodi was abducted on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam, where he had been working in the hotel sector.
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According to KHRC, Mwagodi had been under state surveillance in Kenya prior to his abduction, following his participation in a protest.
The commission claims he was targeted for leading a protest on June 23, 2024, during a church service in Nyahururu, Laikipia, where he criticised the administration of President William Ruto.
Following the protest, KHRC alleges that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later visited Mwagodi’s parents, issuing threats.
“In retaliation, officers from the DCI visited Mwagodi's parents, issuing threats and intimidation in an apparent attempt to silence him and break his spirit through fear and familial pressure,” the KHRC said in a statement.
KHRC described the operation as part of a “deliberate, coordinated, and criminal” effort by the two governments to use “brutal state machinery to crush activists.”
"Kenya's oppressive alliance with Tanzania in the use of brutal state machinery to crush activists is deliberate, coordinated, and criminal," the commission said.
"These are the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime that has lost the legitimacy to govern."
KHRC linked Mwagodi’s disappearance to a wider pattern of repression in the region.
The group cited the recent abduction, torture, and sexual assault of activist Boniface Mwangi and the degrading treatment of Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire after the pair travelled to Tanzania to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Calling the trend a “grave violation” of local, regional, and international human rights law, KHRC issued five demands, including the immediate and unconditional release of Mwagodi, disclosure of his condition and whereabouts, access to legal and family contact, and an end to Kenya’s role in cross-border abductions.
"This pattern of repression, enabled by cross-border collusion, is a grave violation of local, regional, and international human rights law."
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