Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has for the first time acknowledged that two Kenyan activists were detained by his government, using the chilling term “the fridge” to describe their confinement.
The admission comes after Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were missing for 38 days, following their abduction by masked, uniformed men in Uganda last month. The pair had been attending a political event for Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine.
Until their release and return to Kenya on Saturday, Ugandan authorities had repeatedly denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.
A Chilling Admission
President Museveni broke the silence during a live interview on Saturday. While discussing regional protests, he veered into the case of the two Kenyans, whom he described as “experts in riots.”
“We put them in the fridge for some days,” the long-serving leader stated, offering a rare and stark confirmation of a secret detention.
Museveni, who is running for another term after almost four decades in power, issued a warning to those he accused of stoking unrest. “The ones who are doing that game here in Uganda will end up badly,” he said, adding that the men were released after he received calls from “some Kenyan leaders.”
‘We Didn’t Think We Would Come Out Alive’
Upon their arrival at Nairobi’s main airport, Mr. Njagi and Mr. Oyoo were greeted by relieved supporters.
“Thirty-eight days of abduction was not easy. We didn’t think that we were going to come out alive because we were being abducted by the military,” Mr. Njagi told the press, detailing the harrowing ordeal.
Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, confirmed their release was the result of “sustained diplomatic engagement between Kenya and Uganda.”
A Pattern of Transnational Repression
The case has ignited concerns over a coordinated crackdown on dissent across East Africa.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, accused the Ugandan government of targeting the two men simply for associating with him. “If they committed any offence, why were they not produced before court and formally charged?” he asked in a social media post.
This incident is not isolated. Last year, Bob Njagi was similarly abducted in Kenya by masked men during a wave of kidnappings targeting government critics. He was only produced in court after a month, following a court order.
The pattern extends beyond Uganda and Kenya. Earlier this year, activists from both countries were detained and allegedly tortured in Tanzania. In another high-profile case, Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye mysteriously disappeared from Nairobi only to reappear days later in a Ugandan military court.
Human rights groups, including Vocal Africa, Amnesty International, and the Law Society of Kenya, welcomed the release of Njagi and Oyoo but warned against the trend. They stated, “Let this moment signal an important shift towards upholding the human rights of East Africans anywhere in the East African Community.”
The admission from President Museveni, while resolving one case, has cast a brighter light on the shadowy tactics used to silence opposition across the region.
