A pair of Kenyan human rights activists have reportedly gone missing in Uganda after an apparent kidnapping by armed men while attending opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi's campaign event.
Bobi Wine vehemently denounced the kidnapping of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, asserting they were picked up mafia-style at a fuel station and transported to an unknown destination.
Kenyan police spokesman Michael Muchiri informed media outlets he was not aware of the incident. Authorities in Uganda have been contacted for comment.
Bobi Wine, a pop star whose legal name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, is running for the presidential office in next year's elections, challenging President Yoweri Museveni, eighty, who has been in office since 1986.
The opposition leader said the activists were being singled out by the Ugandan government for supporting him.
"We condemn the continuing lawlessness by the rogue regime and demand that these brothers are released unconditionally! The criminal regime apparently abducted them only for associating with me and expressing solidarity with our movement!" he stated on online platforms.
Human rights organization Vocal Africa has also criticized the alleged kidnappings and called for their unconditional release.
A fellow activist who witnessed the incident on Wednesday afternoon said that several individuals with weapons compelled the pair into a vehicle and drove away quickly.
"Several individuals were involved. A woman who was seated in front; they took the activists, who is the leading official of the Free Kenya Movement," the witness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told local media.
He said both were could not be contacted on phone and their location were unknown.
Videos circulated online show Njagi involved in the opposition leader's campaign, and can be seen on the platform beside the political figure.
The individuals had reportedly travelled to Uganda on the start of the week with some Ugandans before joining with the campaign.
The activist was also detained in Kenya last year by masked men during a series of kidnappings believed to have been targeting government critics in the country.
He was unaccounted for for several weeks before resurfacing, after a court ordered authorities to produce him. He later recounted the distressing circumstances in detention – isolated and without meals for the majority of the time.
Their recent incidents resemble past incidents involving political figures and advocates across the area.
Earlier this year, rights defender the advocate and his Ugandan counterpart Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania and held without contact for days before being abandoned at their home country borders.
They later stated being brutally mistreated, including assault at the hands of the Tanzanian authorities – claims which authorities rejected as "hearsay".
Previously, another Uganda opposition figure, the leader, mysteriously disappeared in the capital only to surface after several days in a judicial proceeding in the country, where he is charged with treason charges.
The cases have since sparked broad criticism and concerns that authorities in the region could be collaborating to contain opposition.
