Two Kenyan activists visiting Uganda to support opposition leader Bobi Wine have reportedly been detained in Kampala, raising concerns over their safety and prompting calls for urgent clarification.
Free Kenya Movement National Chairman Bob Njagi and Secretary General Nicholas Oyoo were apprehended on Wednesday afternoon at Stabex Filling Station in Kireka, according to the movement.
National Coordinator Felix Wambua confirmed the incident, stating, “I hereby wish to confirm that our Chairman, Bob Njagi and our Secretary General, Nicholas Oyoo, were today arrested by unknown persons at Stabex Petrol Station, Kireka, Kampala and taken to an undisclosed location.”
Wambua urged supporters to stay calm as the movement engages with Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership to ascertain the whereabouts and condition of the detained officials.
“We extend our gratitude to the NUP Kenya Chapter for their swift support in coordinating search efforts. We call upon the Uganda Police to urgently provide clarity on this matter,” he said.
He added, “If indeed our colleagues have been arrested, we demand that they be presented in a court of law within the next 24 hours, in line with the principles of justice and the spirit of East African unity.”
Wambua also appealed to Kenyans and East Africans to remain united and vigilant while efforts continue to ensure Njagi and Oyoo’s safe return.
A witness described the detention, saying a clay-colored van arrived at the location with four armed individuals and a woman seated in the front. “They just took Bob and the Secretary General, Oyoo,” the witness claimed.
This is not the first time Njagi has been abducted. Last year, he detailed a 32-day ordeal in which he was seized during anti-government protests in Kitengela.
“I was seized on August 19 while travelling in a matatu in Mlolongo. Four masked men approached me, accusing me of carrying a gun. They dragged me out of the vehicle and forced me into a white car,” he said.
Njagi described being confined in a dark room measuring six by four feet, spending the first two days without food and thereafter being fed only twice a week.
“They allowed me to shower just once a week, leaving me in a constant state of physical and emotional despair,” he added. Despite the trauma, he said he has forgiven his captors but plans to hold the government accountable. “The government must compensate families who have lost their loved ones in these unlawful disappearances,” Njagi said, announcing intentions to sue the state.
His abduction was part of a series of disappearances linked to anti-government protests in Kitengela.
The detention of Njagi and Oyoo comes shortly after Wine was cleared by Uganda’s Electoral Commission to contest the January presidential election, following an earlier rejection of his nomination.
With this clearance, Wine, a former pop star turned politician, can challenge President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term after ruling since 1986.
In the 2021 election, Wine received 35 percent of the vote compared to Museveni’s 58 percent, his narrowest margin yet. Wine alleged ballot tampering and fraud, prompting protests that killed at least 54 people and led to his house arrest.
Wine’s NUP party now holds the largest opposition bloc in parliament, enjoying strong support from urban working-class communities. Following the Electoral Commission’s announcement, Museveni encouraged citizens to support his vision for Uganda’s future.
Analysts note that a 2017 constitutional amendment removing the presidential age limit of 75 enabled Museveni to extend his rule.