KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has described two Kenyans recently released from detention in Uganda as “experts in riots,” sparking renewed regional debate over the treatment of activists and cross-border security cooperation.
The remarks came a day after the release of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were abducted on October 1, 2025, while attending a political rally in Uganda and held incommunicado for 38 days.
Their disappearance had triggered alarm among civil society groups, human rights defenders, and regional watchdogs, who demanded their safe return.
“Here we have got very good intelligence. We arrested two Kenyans… We monitored them and found out they were experts in riots,” President Museveni said during a televised address on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
The two activists were handed over to Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Joash Maangi, and safely received at the Busia border, according to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei.
Speaking to the press upon their arrival in Kenya, Njagi recounted the ordeal, describing their detention as torturous and dehumanizing.
“I am delighted to be back home. Thirty-eight days of abduction were not easy; we did not think we would come out alive,” Njagi said. He added that both he and Oyoo endured physical torture, food deprivation, and prolonged isolation before being released.
President Museveni, however, defended the actions of Ugandan security agencies, saying the country would continue to confront individuals perceived to threaten national stability. “I must warn the people doing that game here in Uganda. Here we normally defeat it by countering it, like the way we did in November 2020,” he said, referring to the government’s previous clampdowns on protests.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups, who argue that the detention of foreign activists without due process reflects a growing crackdown on civic freedoms in East Africa.
Analysts note that while Uganda has maintained a firm stance on internal security, the abduction of non-Ugandan nationals raises diplomatic and legal concerns under regional cooperation frameworks such as the East African Community Treaty and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Civil society organisations in both countries are now calling for an independent investigation into the activists’ detention and mistreatment, urging regional leaders to uphold the rule of law and ensure that cross-border operations adhere to international human rights standards.
