Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has publicly acknowledged for the first time that two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were secretly arrested and detained in Uganda for more than five weeks, despite earlier denials from security agencies.
The two men vanished in early October after eyewitnesses saw masked, uniformed officers forcefully bundling them into a vehicle moments after they attended a political event supporting Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine. Their disappearance drew regional outrage, with rights groups accusing Ugandan authorities of orchestrating yet another politically motivated abduction.
Museveni’s first admission
In a live televised interview on Saturday evening, President Museveni described the two Kenyans as “experts in riots” who, according to him, were disrupting Uganda’s political environment. He added that security forces put them “in the fridge for some days,” an admission interpreted as confirmation of a covert detention, a practice long alleged by activists but rarely acknowledged by Ugandan authorities.
Up until Saturday, officials had denied holding the two men or having any information about their whereabouts.
Museveni made the remarks while responding to questions about the deadly youth-led protests in Tanzania, suggesting that unnamed foreign groups were fueling unrest across East Africa. He warned that those “playing games” in Uganda “will end up badly,” further intensifying concerns about the shrinking space for civil liberties in the region.
Handed back after diplomatic pressure
Without mentioning names, Museveni admitted that the two activists were released only after he received calls from “some Kenyan leaders” requesting that they be returned.
Upon arrival at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday, Njagi and Oyoo were greeted by supporters and activists who had been campaigning tirelessly for their freedom.
“Thirty-eight days of abduction was not easy. We didn’t think we would come out alive because we were taken by the military,” Njagi said emotionally.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi confirmed that their return was the result of “sustained diplomatic engagement between Kenya and Uganda.”
Rights groups welcome release but raise alarm
Rights organisations including Vocal Africa, Amnesty International, and the Law Society of Kenya issued a joint statement thanking the two governments but warning that such disappearances are becoming disturbingly common in East Africa.
Vocal Africa noted that the release “should mark a turning point toward respecting the human rights of East Africans anywhere within the East African Community.”
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, who is challenging Museveni in the upcoming elections, accused Ugandan authorities of targeting the two Kenyans due to their association with him. “If they committed any offence, why were they not taken to court and charged?” he asked on X (formerly Twitter).
A troubling regional pattern
The case is the latest in a long line of disappearances, secret detentions, and alleged cross-border crackdowns on dissent within East Africa.
- Last year, Njagi himself was abducted in Kenya by masked men amid a string of enforced disappearances targeting government critics.
- Earlier this year, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania and held without communication before being dumped at border points. Both later accused Tanzanian authorities of mistreatment, including sexual torture, allegations dismissed as “hearsay.”
- In another incident, prominent Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye disappeared in Nairobi and resurfaced days later before a Ugandan military court facing treason charges.
Human-rights experts warn that coordination among regional governments to suppress dissent is becoming more apparent, undermining democratic norms across East Africa.
Growing concern over shrinking civic space
Civil society groups say the acknowledgment by President Museveni only reinforces fears that state agencies are operating shadow networks to intimidate activists, journalists, and opposition supporters.
As Uganda heads toward a crucial election year, the latest incident has amplified calls for transparency, accountability, and the protection of political freedoms, not only in Uganda, but across the entire East African region.