Two Kenyan human rights activists who went missing in Uganda after reportedly being abducted by armed men while attending opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi’s rally have finally resurfaced.
Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo had not been seen for 38 days after Bobi Wine confirmed that they were picked up mafia-style” at a petrol station and driven off to an unknown destination. The disappearance of the two has been a subject of debate within Uganda and Kenya.
Their release was confirmed by Faith Odhiambo, the President of the Law Society of Kenya, through her X.
“@VOCALAfrica_@LawSocietyofKe and @AmnestyKenya welcome the release of Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi last night in Busia after 38 days of their enforced disappearance.” She said.
“We extend our appreciation to their families, Free Kenya movement colleagues, human rights defenders, journalists, the ministries of foreign affairs in Kenya and Tanzania, and all active citizens who have tirelessly campaigned for this moment. Let this moment signal an important shift towards upholding the human rights of East Africans anywhere within the East African Community. We are facilitating their transfer to Nairobi and will give details of their arrival for family, friends, and comrades to meet them,” further reads Odhiambo’s message.
Their release was equally confirmed by Dr. Abraham Korir Sing’Oei is the Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, according to the Saturday edition of the Daily Nation.
Korir Sing’Oei reportedly said that the two were released to Kenya’s High Commissioner in Uganda, Joash Maangi. They were escorted by the High Commissioner and officials from the Ugandan government to the Busia border.
URN checked Korir’s X, where he stated that “Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo are free and on Kenyan territory. Late last night, after lengthy engagements, the two were released to our High Commissioner in Uganda, Joash Maangi,”
“They were escorted by the Ambassador and officials of the Ugandan government to Busia border town and were received by Busia County Commissioner Chaunga Mwachaunga.”
On 23rd October, the High Court in Kampala declared two Kenyan nationals, who were allegedly arrested by security operatives during an opposition campaign rally in Kaliro District, as missing persons.
The High Court in Kampala has declared that the two Kenyan nationals as missing persons. Justice Simon Peter Kinobe ruled that there was no evidence that any of Uganda’s security agencies were holding the two men. He then categorized them as missing persons whose whereabouts and condition remained unknown.
Justice Kinobe made the declaration while dismissing a habeas corpus application filed on behalf of the two men.
Kayagulanyi and his NUP had insisted that the two were arrested by armed men in both military and civilian attire and driven off in a Toyota Hiace van, commonly referred to as a drone.
In the application filed before the Civil Division of the High Court, the lawyers for the missing activists Eron Kiiza and Kato Tumusiime sought an order compelling the Chief of Defence Forces, the Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security, the Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General to produce the two men, dead or alive.
They argued that the continued incommunicado detention of the applicants violated their constitutional right to liberty and protection from arbitrary arrest.
Affidavits in support of the application alleged that Oyoo and Njagi were being held at a military detention facility in Mbuya, Kampala, under the command of the Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security.
Responding to the affidavits, Colonel Silas Kamanda Mutungi, the Director of Joint Staff Services in the Uganda People’s Defence Intelligence and Security.
Responding to the affidavits, Colonel Silas Kamanda Mutungi, the Director of Joint Staff Services in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, and Detective Stephan Bwalatum of the Uganda Police Force said the two were not in their custody
They stated that thorough checks and investigations were carried out across all known military and police detention facilities and records, but no evidence was found that Oyoo and Njagi were in their custody. They stated that the applicants for writ of habeas corpus in relation to the activists were misconceived and brought it in bad faith to damage the reputation of state institutions.
However, Justice Kinobe, in his ruling delivered electronically via the Judiciary’s Electronic Case Management and Information System (ECCMIS), noted that the writ of habeas corpus is a vital constitutional safeguard against unlawful detention.
Justice Kinobe then concluded that the respondents had complied with the court’s directives and that there was no basis for granting further orders.
“I find that one cannot squeeze blood from a stone. The State can only produce what it has, and it would therefore be unrealistic to expect the desired outcome from circumstances that could not, in any case, yield it,” ruled Kinobe.
The news of their release by the Ugandan government has so far attracted online debate within Uganda and Kenya.
One Balikuddembe Augustine stated that “That’s how Uganda authorities behave. They first deny having citizens in their basements, and if it wasn’t power or pressure from all parts of the world, these two brothers of ours, you might not have seen them again. Thank God they’re back. Panda gari here are common vices by the regime.”
Kenyan lawyer, Professor Jamil Mujuzi, in response to Faith Odhiambo, said, “That is good to hear. It confirms our position that the High Court’s decision to the effect that they were “missing” was wrong. Every reasonable person suspected (reasonably) that they were in state custody. Will they sue the government of Uganda for violating their rights?” he asked.
Dr. Duncan Onyango from Kenya wrote that “I associate with your statement, Madam President, save for the part where you express gratitude to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (Government). I don’t believe these Comrades were held by Ugandan Authorities without the knowledge/consent/request of our government. On this, accountability is key. Until GoK releases a statement to account for the whereabouts of Njagi and Oyoo in the past 37 days, it cannot be trusted.”
Another Kenyan jokingly said it would set a good precedent, going back to the court in Uganda, where government officials swore that the individuals were not in Uganda. “I think we should and sermon the same individuals for lying under oath,” he said.
The release of the two follows a joint open letter to the Ugandan High Commission, by the Law Society of Kenya, rights organisations Amnesty International Kenya and Vocal Africa. They said, “The latest incident was ‘yet another alarming case in a pattern of abductions and enforced disappearances in the region.
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