UN Special Rapporteur condemns disappearance of Kenyan activists in Uganda
The Uganda Police, however, have since refuted claims that the two activists are in state custody. During a press briefing, ACP Rusoke Kituuma said the police had no information on their whereabouts and had not received any formal report regarding their disappearance.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has expressed deep concern over the disappearance of Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo in Uganda.
In a statement on Friday, Lawlor urged Ugandan authorities to investigate the activists’ alleged abduction on October 1 and ensure their safe release.
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“I am very disturbed by the reported continued disappearance of Kenyan human rights defenders Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo in Uganda. The two defenders were allegedly abducted by unidentified armed men in Kampala on October 1. Ugandan authorities must investigate and secure the safe release of Bob and Nicholas,” said Mary Lawlor in a statement on X.
The Uganda Police, however, have since refuted claims that the two activists are in state custody. During a press briefing, ACP Rusoke Kituuma said the police had no information on their whereabouts and had not received any formal report regarding their disappearance.
“Regarding the Kenyan activists who allegedly came to Uganda and are reported to have disappeared. I have not been briefed by the police that they are in our custody. At the moment, I have no information indicating that they are held by the police, nor do I have any information that they are facing any accusations. If I had such information, I would share it here without reservation,” Kituuma said.
He added that the Uganda National Police also has no information on whether Njagi and Oyoo have been reported as missing persons.
“I also do not know whether it has been formally reported that they are lost persons or missing persons; I do not have that information,” he said.
The two activists went missing on October 1, when they were reportedly forced into a van at gunpoint while at a petrol station in Kireka township, just outside Kampala. Njagi and Oyoo had travelled to Uganda to join National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Bobi Wine’s campaign trail ahead of the 2026 elections.
Eyewitnesses said that Njagi and Oyoo were forced into a grey van at gunpoint at a petrol station in Kireka township, just outside Kampala.
A witness who was with them at the time described how four armed men, including a woman in the front seat of the van, abducted the activists and immediately switched off their phones.
“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,” the witness said.
In Nairobi on Thursday, a handful of activists gathered along Aga Khan Walk in the CBD and marched to the Ugandan embassy to push for the release of Njagi and Oyoo. The protesters called on East African heads of state to address the trend of abductions in the region and ensure freedom of speech.
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