NAIROBI, KENYA – Thursday, 30 October 2025, 10:10 AM (EAT) – Mounting pressure from human rights organizations, legal bodies, and the public is intensifying on both the Kenyan and Ugandan governments to resolve the disappearance of two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo. The pair were reportedly abducted in Uganda on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, and have not been seen or heard from since, marking nearly a month of uncertainty and growing anguish for their families.

Njagi and Oyoo, prominent figures in Kenya's civil society, were allegedly seized by armed individuals believed to be security operatives while attending a political campaign event for Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine. Eyewitness accounts suggest they were forcibly taken at a petrol station in Kampala. Since the incident, their whereabouts remain unknown, sparking a fierce campaign under the hashtag #BringThemHomeKE and formal demands for action from regional and international bodies.

Diplomatic Deadlock and Official Denials

Despite the public outcry, official channels have yielded few results. The Ugandan government, through its police and military, has consistently denied holding the activists in any of their facilities. This denial was upheld in a Ugandan High Court, which on Thursday, October 23, 2025, dismissed a habeas corpus application seeking to compel the state to produce Njagi and Oyoo. The court ruled that it “cannot squeeze blood from a stone,” categorizing the two as “missing persons” and advising the applicants to file a missing person's report with the police. This ruling has been widely condemned by rights groups as a “declaration of impunity” and a “constitutional and legal betrayal.”

In response to the disappearances, a Kenyan public affairs advisor, Francis Wanjiku, has vowed to petition the High Court of Kenya to strip Uganda's Chargé d'Affaires in Nairobi, Eunice Kigenyi, of her diplomatic immunity if the activists are not released. This move highlights the growing frustration with the perceived diplomatic inaction and places a direct focus on Uganda's highest-ranking envoy in Kenya. However, legal experts note that such a petition is unlikely to succeed due to the protections afforded by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which is incorporated into Kenyan law.

A Pattern of Cross-Border Repression

The case of Njagi and Oyoo is not an isolated incident but rather part of what the East Africa Law Society (EALS) calls a “growing pattern of cross-border repression.” Human rights monitors have criticized an increase in abductions and forced disappearances in the region, often targeting political dissidents and activists. Amnesty International Kenya has drawn parallels between the current climate of enforced disappearances and the regime of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Former Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi noted that Njagi himself had been a victim of abduction in Kenya previously, suggesting a familiar pattern of official silence or complicity.

Calls for Kenyan Government Action

In Kenya, the government's response has been described by critics as muted. While Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei have offered assurances that the government is working to secure the activists' release, tangible results have not been forthcoming. This has led to accusations of “criminal silence” from prominent figures like former Chief Justice David Maraga, who on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, urged the Kenyan government to summon the Ugandan envoy and use all available diplomatic, economic, and legal tools to ensure the activists' safe return.

Human rights groups including the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Amnesty International Kenya, and Vocal Africa have been at the forefront, demanding immediate action. They have raised grave concerns about the activists' health, citing credible informal sources suggesting they may have been subjected to torture and are in dire need of medical attention. The organizations have initiated a campaign for Kenyans to email Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni directly to demand the release of the two men.

As the search enters its 30th day, the families of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo are left in a state of distress, appealing directly to President William Ruto for intervention. The case has become a critical test of Kenya's commitment to protecting its citizens abroad and its diplomatic leverage within the East African Community. The continued silence and lack of accountability from Ugandan authorities threaten to strain relations between the two nations and undermine the principles of free movement and human rights enshrined in regional treaties. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.