South Sudanese Businessman Abducted in Kenya Is Being Held at Juba Military Base, Amnesty Says

A South Sudanese whistleblower allegedly abducted in Kenya earlier this week is being held in a military base, Amnesty now says. 

Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is said to be held at a camp in Juba days after he disappeared following an early morning raid.

The 51-year-old was living in Nairobi and had been raising concerns over corruption with the South Sudanese government, making some key figures uncomfortable.

“We have received credible information that Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit… was unlawfully deported to South Sudan and is currently being held at a military detention facility in Juba,” Amnesty said on X.

On Tuesday, 11 June, Athorbey was taken by armed, masked individuals at around 3am and bundled into a white vehicle after leaving a casino on the outskirts of Nairobi, according to a police report filed by his wife that cited witness accounts.

According to reports, he repeatedly warned that his life was in danger because he was revealing corruption linked to South Sudan’s ruling elite, a representative told AFP. 

A United Nations report last year detailed how government officials had stolen billions of dollars in oil money while leaving the population with hardly any essential services. 

Gaddhaffy-Dit’s disappearance is the latest in a series of recent incidents in ​Kenya where foreign nationals have been reported abducted or deported to countries where they say they face political ​persecution.

“Nairobi used to be safe for those seeking refuge from authoritarian regimes. It seems that’s over. Too bad!” Tibor Nagy, who served ‌as ⁠U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa during Donald Trump’s first term as president, wrote on X in response to reports of Gaddaffy-Dit’s abduction.

According to reports of other cases like that of  November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was kidnapped in Kenya and taken to a military court in Uganda, where he is facing treason charges. 

Turkish and Tanzanian dissidents have also been kidnapped on Kenyan soil.

Amnesty previously warned that Kenya, long considered a refuge for dissidents in a repressive East African region, was increasingly complicit in allowing neighbouring countries to abduct their citizens.

In previous cases, Kenyan authorities have either denied knowledge of reported abductions or said they ​were cooperating with legitimate requests ​from foreign governments.