By Jamillah Kemigisa
In a landmark and unprecedented human rights ruling, the High Court in Kampala has issued a habeas corpus order directing the Ugandan government to produce two missing Kenyan activists—Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi—dead or alive by October 21, 2025.
The directive, delivered by Justice Simon Peter Kinobe, stems from a petition lodged by human rights lawyers under Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates, amid growing alarm over the activists’ disappearance in Eastern Uganda earlier this month.
Oyoo and Njagi, both prominent Kenyan nationals and vocal human rights defenders, were reportedly abducted on October 1, 2025, shortly after attending campaign rallies organized by Uganda’s main opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP). Eyewitnesses allege that the pair was seized by men dressed in both military and civilian attire.
According to a sworn affidavit by Koffi Atinda, a fellow Kenyan activist and close associate of the missing duo, the men were bundled into a white Toyota Hiace van—locally known as a “drone”—a vehicle type long associated with enforced disappearances and secret detentions.
“I saw them being driven away by men in military and civilian clothes,” Atinda testified. “Later, I received information indicating that they were being held at the Mbuya military facility—a site notorious for its secrecy and allegations of torture.”
The petitioners assert that since their abduction, the two have been held incommunicado, deprived of legal representation, family contact, and access to Kenyan consular officials—violations that contravene both Uganda’s 1995 Constitution and international human rights conventions to which Uganda is a signatory.
Atinda decried the detention as “an outright illegality and a cruel affront to fundamental freedoms, including the rights to liberty, dignity, and freedom from torture.” The petition calls for government transparency and accountability over the alleged forced disappearance.
In a sharp statement supporting the petition, David Lewis Rubongoya, Secretary General of the NUP, condemned the state’s conduct, describing it as an egregious abuse of power:
“These are not ordinary missing persons—they are political activists exercising their constitutional rights. The government must account for their whereabouts and condition, dead or alive.”
Legal experts representing the petitioners argued that the government has blatantly violated constitutional provisions requiring that any arrested person be brought before a court within 48 hours. The activists have been detained far beyond this timeframe without formal charges or trial.
The case has ignited widespread concern within the East African Community (EAC), where principles of free movement and political participation are enshrined in the regional framework. Analysts warn that the incident could set a perilous precedent, eroding both national and cross-border protections for activists and political dissidents.
“As East Africans, we must safeguard the right to free movement and political expression without fear of abduction or torture,” Atinda emphasized.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on October 21, 2025, in what observers predict could become a defining case for human rights jurisprudence in Uganda and the region. Meanwhile, the government’s official response—and the fate of Oyoo and Njagi—remain anxiously awaited by their families, supporters, and the international community.
