Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has accused President Yoweri Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, of detaining Kenyan human rights activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo for 38 days. The activists were reportedly held at Kasenyi military barracks and interrogated about their presence in Uganda, particularly regarding their attendance at Wine’s manifesto launch in Jinja.
Speaking after their release, Wine said, “After 39 days under incommunicado detention and torture, our Kenyan brothers Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo have been dumped at the Kenya-Uganda border at Busia by the Museveni regime. They are now headed back to Nairobi.”
The two activists were abducted in Kampala on October 1. Wine revealed that his conversation with them confirmed that they had been held under the supervision of Muhoozi, raising concerns about targeted detentions by Uganda’s security apparatus.
Their release on Friday night was confirmed by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Korir Sing’Oei, who stated that the duo had been handed over to the Kenya High Commissioner in Uganda and escorted to the Busia border town by Ugandan authorities. Busia County Commissioner Chaunga Mwachaunga received them upon arrival in Kenya.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi noted that the release came after sustained diplomatic engagement, including a formal letter addressed to Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister General Odongo Jeje Abubakhar.
Earlier, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) had denied holding Njagi and Oyoo. Colonel Silas Kamanda, responding to a habeas corpus court order, claimed that the military had searched all detention centres and could not locate the activists.
Their disappearance had sparked widespread regional concern and diplomatic tensions, with lobby and civil society groups calling for their immediate release. The eventual handover marks a critical diplomatic intervention by Kenya to safeguard its nationals.
