KAMPALA, Uganda — The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has denied allegations that it is holding Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were abducted in Kampala on October 1, insisting that military investigations have found no record of their detention.
In an affidavit submitted to the Uganda High Court in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by two Ugandan lawyers, the UPDF maintained that it has no knowledge of the activists’ whereabouts. The lawyers had accused the military of unlawfully detaining the two men at a facility in Mbuya, Kampala.
Colonel Silas Kamanda, the UPDF’s Director of Joint Staff Legal Services, told the court that comprehensive searches were conducted across military and police detention centres, lock-up registers, and custody records, but “no entry relating to Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi” was found.
“The UPDF has carried out investigations and searched all relevant detention facilities and records, and found no indication that the two individuals are in our custody,” Kamanda stated. He concluded that the military “does not know their whereabouts.”
The court is expected to deliver a ruling on the habeas corpus petition on Thursday, potentially determining whether the Ugandan government must produce the missing activists or account for their disappearance.
The UPDF’s denial comes two weeks after the Uganda Police Force also refuted reports of abduction, saying it had not received any formal complaint on the matter. However, the families of the missing men and human rights organisations have criticised the authorities’ response as evasive and insufficient.
Njagi and Oyoo, both Kenyan nationals, had travelled to Uganda to support opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) ahead of a series of political mobilization events. They were reportedly abducted in broad daylight by unidentified men, prompting concerns of state involvement.
For nearly three weeks, their families and civil society groups have staged protests in Nairobi and Kampala, demanding their release and calling on both governments to intervene. Despite assurances from Kenya’s High Commission in Kampala that it was following up on the case, no concrete updates have been provided.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International, the Law Society of Kenya, and Vocal Africa launched a global petition addressed to President Yoweri Museveni, urging his administration to disclose the activists’ whereabouts and ensure their immediate release if detained.
“The disappearance of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo is deeply alarming,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “It fits a pattern of enforced disappearances and intimidation of political activists in Uganda that must end.”
Human rights defenders have warned that the case underscores a worrying trend of cross-border repression targeting activists associated with opposition movements.
As the High Court prepares to rule, families of the two men remain in anguish, pleading for transparency and accountability. “We just want to know where they are,” one relative said outside the court. “Silence from both governments is only deepening our pain.”
The outcome of Thursday’s ruling is likely to shape regional perceptions of Uganda’s human rights record, already under scrutiny for the use of security forces to suppress dissent and silence critics.
