Kenya: Maraga Urges Govt to Demand Safe Return of Activists Njagi & Oyoo From Uganda

Nairobi — Former Chief Justice David Maraga has called on the Kenyan government to take strong diplomatic, economic, and legal measures to secure the immediate and safe return of Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicolas Oyoo, who were reportedly detained in Uganda.

Maraga urged the government to summon the Ugandan envoy and use "every available tool" to ensure the activists' protection and release.

The call comes amid growing concerns over the activists' safety and reports of cross-border human rights violations in the region.

"These are not just names; they are young, courageous Kenyans who dared to believe in a more just and democratic future for our region," Maraga said.

"The court's declaration that it 'cannot squeeze blood from a stone' is not just a legal finding, it is a declaration of impunity."

The two activists, members of the Free Kenya Movement, were abducted in eastern Uganda, on October 1, 2025.

Witnesses said they were seized by armed men believed to be Ugandan security operatives shortly after addressing a civic engagement forum linked to opposition leader Bobi Wine's campaign.

Their whereabouts remain unknown nearly a month later.

Uganda's High Court last week dismissed a habeas corpus application filed by lawyers seeking to compel the state to produce the two, saying there was no proof that security agencies were holding them.

The ruling effectively categorized Njagi and Oyoo as "missing persons," a decision that sparked outrage among human rights defenders.

Maraga accused the Kenyan government of "criminal silence," saying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had failed to exert diplomatic pressure on Kampala to account for its citizens.

The former Chief Justice warned that the abductions reflect a wider regional pattern of state-sanctioned repression, pointing to "a dark cloud of cross-border tyranny" descending over East Africa.

He called on the East African Community and the African Union to establish an independent inquiry into enforced disappearances in the region.

His statement comes on the back of mounting public anger in Nairobi and Kampala following the failure by both governments to account for the missing activists.

Civil society groups, including Amnesty Kenya and the East Africa Law Society, have urged urgent diplomatic intervention, warning that the continued inaction threatens to deepen regional instability and erode public trust in state institutions.

Read the original article on Capital FM.