Kenya: Activist Mwabili Mwagodi Arrested At Lunga Lunga Border Over Alleged Red Notice

Nairobi — Kenyan activist Mwabili Mwagodi was on Sunday arrested at the Lunga Lunga Border Police Post after immigration officials allegedly stopped him from leaving the country, citing a Red Notice said to have been issued earlier this year.

In a statement posted on his official X account, Mwagodi said he was en route to Dar es Salaam when officers intercepted him at the border and informed him that his passport had been flagged.

According to him, the alert was linked to a Red Notice allegedly placed around January or February 2025 by an officer attached to the Serious Crimes Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), based at Mazingira House along Kiambu Road.

Mwagodi claimed that the officer involved did not disclose the specific offence or formal charge connected to the purported warrant.

He said he was subsequently detained at Lunga Lunga Police Station, where officers indicated they were awaiting instructions from DCI headquarters.

The activist further alleged that both the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) and a DCI officer visited his holding cell on February 16 and confirmed that they were still seeking guidance on how to proceed with the matter.

Efforts to obtain an official response from the DCI regarding the alleged Red Notice and the grounds for his detention were unsuccessful by press time. However, other police officers reportedly claimed that Mwagodi posed a danger in Tanzania.

The arrest comes months after Mwagodi was reportedly abducted in Dar es Salaam under unclear circumstances.

He disappeared on July 23, 2025, while travelling by public transport in Tanzania, where he worked in the hospitality sector. His mobile phone was switched off, and his family was unable to establish his whereabouts.

When relatives sought assistance from the DCI, the agency is said to have declined involvement, citing jurisdictional limitations. Human rights activist Hussein Khalid of Vocal Africa supported the family in demanding answers during the four-day ordeal.

Mwagodi was later found abandoned in Kinondo, Kwale County, after being missing for four days.

The circumstances surrounding both the alleged Red Notice and his earlier disappearance remain unclear, raising fresh questions about the basis of the current detention and the events leading up to it.

Read the original article on Capital FM.