Kenyan human rights activists, Mr Nicholas Oyoo and Mr Bob Njagi were reportedly abducted on Oct. 1
Lawyers representing two Kenyan activists allegedly abducted in Uganda last week have petitioned the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala, seeking orders to secure their release from incommunicado detention. The activists, Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi, were reportedly arrested shortly after attending a campaign rally for presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, who is the leader of Uganda’s opposition National Unity Platform (NUP).
Kiiza & Mugisha Co Advocates filed the petition, naming Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, the Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security, the Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General as respondents. The petition includes an affidavit by Mr Koffi Atinda, a colleague of Njagi, who claims to have witnessed the arrest after Bobi’s rally in Kaliro District in eastern Uganda.
“The respondent’s military arrest and detention of the applicants at the 2nd respondent’s detention facility since Wednesday, 1st October, 2025, in Mbuya is incommunicado detention, illegal and unlawful,” Mr Koffi states. Mbuya is the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs.
“The applicants have since been in an illegal and incommunicado detention for more than 48 hours, without trial or charges,” he adds. Mr Koffi said his colleagues, members of the African Movement, had come to Uganda to show support for Bobi Wine, whom they also consider personal friends. He recounts: “It’s during their stay that they were brutally arrested by men wielding guns in military and civilian clothes, around Kaliro District at Starbex Petrol Station, where they had parked their vehicle. I witnessed the arrest and survived by a whisker.
They were taken in a Toyota Hiace van, commonly known as Drone, at a terrible speed to a place one of them said was Mbuya.” He expressed concern for the activists’ safety, citing past instances of military harassment and torture of critics of President Museveni. “It’s important that this honourable court brings to an end the illegal military detention of the applicants and orders their unconditional liberty,” he pleaded.
By press time, it was unclear when the court would hear the habeas corpus application, though the Constitution mandates fast-tracking of human rights cases. The Kenya High Commission in Kampala reportedly inquired about the activists’ whereabouts following petitions from Vocal Africa and the families of Oyoo and Njagi, though no response had been confirmed. Police, however, deny involvement.
Assistant Commissioner Kituuma Rusoke told the media: “I am not briefed by the police that we have them in our custody. At the moment, I do not have any information that they are in police custody.”
He suggested the publication seek clarification from other security agencies. Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye, the director of public information in the Defence Ministry, said Bobi Wine had not provided proof of the alleged abduction and challenged him to provide evidence, including vehicle registration, for verification. “In law, the onus of proof lies in the hands of the accuser,” Maj Gen Kulayigye said. Bobi Wine maintains that the Kenyans were targeted for supporting him and demanded their release. Conflicting accounts exist over the arrest location, with Bobi posting on X that the duo was “picked up mafia-style … from a petrol station in Kireka [Waliso District] and driven off to an unknown destination.”
Videos show Njagi on stage beside Bobi at a campaign rally. The activists reportedly arrived in Uganda on Monday with some Ugandans before joining Bobi’s campaign. Rights groups have circulated posters demanding their immediate release. Security agents in plain clothes have previously been accused of abducting, detaining, and torturing Opposition members, some of whom later face treason charges in court. On Sunday, Dr Hannington Mutebi, the former Assistant Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kampala, condemned the abductions during a confirmation ceremony at St John’s Church, Makerere.
“The government should champion the rule of law and not abduct citizens and dissenters into safe houses and prisons. Everyone’s rights must be respected, and alleged offenders should be brought to court,” he added.