How Uhuru’s call to Muhoozi saved activists Njagi and Oyoo

By Newsflash Reporter

It has emerged that it took the direct intervention of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta to secure the release of two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were detained by Ugandan authorities for 38 days.

The duo had been abducted at the beginning of October in Kampala by Ugandan military operatives after attending opposition leader Bobi Wine’s campaign rally in eastern Uganda. Their disappearance sparked widespread concern among human rights defenders and political activists in Kenya and beyond.

According to Jubilee Party Deputy Organising Secretary Pauline Njoroge, efforts by the Kenyan government to secure their release had stalled until Kenyatta personally intervened.

“Just as in several recent instances where the Kenyan government has faced difficulties in securing the release of citizens detained abroad, the situation was no different for Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi, who had been held incommunicado in Uganda. While our government made some efforts to intervene including writing a protest letter, they failed to get a breakthrough until former President Uhuru Kenyatta personally placed a call to General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. It was this intervention that finally broke the deadlock, leading to the duo’s release and subsequent handover to Kenyan authorities,” said Njoroge on Saturday.

Torture in military detention

Speaking to journalists at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after landing from Uganda, Bob Njagi confirmed Uhuru’s intervention and narrated the ordeal they endured in Ugandan detention.

“We were in military detention by the special forces. I didn’t eat for 14 days. We were tortured,” said Njagi, struggling to hold back tears.

At JKIA, the two activists were received by their families and human rights campaigners in an emotional homecoming. Njagi’s and Oyoo’s families, accompanied by Human Rights Activists, thanked all who participated in securing their freedom while demanding accountability for their suffering.

“God has done it, and we thank God for what He has done,” said Nick’s mother, overwhelmed with emotion as she embraced her son.

Human rights advocates present at the airport condemned the abduction and detention, calling for regional accountability to prevent similar violations.

“We must arrest these human rights violations; otherwise, we will see very violent elections in East Africa,” one activist warned, highlighting growing fears about democratic backsliding in the region.

Representatives from Amnesty International, Vocal Africa, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) described the release as a relief but also a grim reminder of deteriorating freedoms in East Africa.

“We are afraid that if these trends witnessed in Tanzania and Uganda continue, human rights violations will be more rampant,” said Irene Soile of Amnesty International.

Regional pressure and high-level negotiations

Hussein Khalid, Executive Director of Vocal Africa, said the episode was a wake-up call for citizens across East Africa to unite against repression.

“The long journey for justice now begins. If we remain silent, oppressive regimes will come for us. We are calling on citizens of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to unite — an attack against one country is an attack against all of us,” he said.

Amnesty International and the Free Kenya Movement confirmed that high-level negotiations — including Kenyatta’s direct call to General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son and a senior military official — were instrumental in ending the activists’ ordeal.

“Without the intervention of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, I don’t know if we would have managed,” said Felix Wambua of the Free Kenya Movement.

Their release was confirmed on Friday night, when Ugandan authorities handed the two activists over to officials from the Kenyan High Commission in Kampala. They were later received by Busia County Commissioner Chaunga Mwachaunga at the border.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei announced the news on X, confirming the activists’ safe return home.

“Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo are free and on Kenyan territory. They were released to our High Commissioner in Uganda, Joash Maangi, after lengthy engagements,” he posted.

Njagi and Oyoo were reportedly abducted on October 1, 2025, during Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform campaign events. Their disappearance had triggered international outrage, prompting appeals from rights groups and diplomatic pressure on Uganda.

Their safe return home — attributed to the intervention of Kenya’s former head of state — underscores both the fragility of cross-border activism in East Africa and the enduring influence of Uhuru Kenyatta in regional diplomacy.