Unverified Claims of Foreign Intervention

NAIROBI – Kenyan activist Bob Njagi has made sensational claims that Ugandan soldiers were secretly deployed to Kenya to help violently suppress the youth-led anti-finance bill protests in 2024. Speaking on Citizen TV on the evening of Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Njagi alleged that soldiers from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) confessed their involvement to him during his recent detention in a Ugandan military facility. He stated the soldiers told him they were “moved from Uganda as military dressed in Kenya police uniform to come and quell the riots in Kenya.”

These allegations have not been independently verified, and no official response has been issued by the Kenyan or Ugandan governments as of Thursday, November 13, 2025. Njagi’s claims suggest a coordinated effort between the neighbouring states to suppress democratic expression, a charge with significant implications for regional sovereignty and security dynamics. “This is a collaboration between States; that is why you are seeing what is happening in Kenya resonating in Uganda and Tanzania,” Njagi added during the interview.

Context: Detention and Torture Allegations

Njagi’s statement came just days after his release from a harrowing 38-day ordeal in Ugandan custody alongside fellow activist Nicholas Oyoo. The pair were abducted by armed men in Kampala on October 1, 2025. Their release on the night of Friday, November 7, 2025, followed intense diplomatic engagement between the two nations. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni later confirmed the arrests, accusing the activists of being “experts in riots” and working with local opposition figures.

During their first public interviews, both Njagi and Oyoo described being held incommunicado and subjected to torture at a Special Forces Command facility in Entebbe. They recounted brutal interrogations, beatings, and deplorable conditions, alleging they were held with over 150 other Ugandans and foreign nationals without trial. Njagi alleged their abduction was based on faulty intelligence suggesting they were in Uganda to mobilise youth protests.

The 2024 Protests: A Deadly Domestic Response

The Gen Z-led protests, which erupted across Kenya in June 2024 against the controversial Finance Bill 2024, were marked by a brutal crackdown by Kenyan security forces. Human rights organisations have extensively documented the excessive use of force. According to a December 2024 report by the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), police had killed at least 63 people and abducted 87 between June and October 2024. Amnesty International’s 2024/25 report cited at least 65 individuals killed and 89 forcibly disappeared during the sustained crackdown. The protests saw thousands of young Kenyans take to the streets, organised largely on social media, to oppose tax hikes on essential goods and services. On June 25, 2024, as parliament passed the bill, demonstrators breached the parliamentary complex, leading to a deadly police response with live ammunition. President William Ruto later withdrew the bill but described the events as “treasonous.”

Kenya-Uganda Security Pacts in Focus

While Njagi’s claims of a joint suppression effort are unconfirmed, Kenya and Uganda have formal security agreements. In April 2022, the two nations signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in defence and security to jointly address threats like terrorism and other transitional crimes. These defence ties were deepened at a meeting in Mbale, Uganda, in January 2025, focusing on intelligence sharing and countering violent extremism. These agreements are intended to foster regional stability, but Njagi’s allegations, if substantiated, would suggest they are being used to clamp down on internal dissent, a purpose not publicly stated in the pacts. The lack of official comment from either Nairobi or Kampala leaves these serious allegations hanging over a critical East African relationship, demanding further investigation. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.