THE ABDUCTION OF BOB NJAGI AND NICHOLAS OYOO, AND THE CRISIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST AFRICA

My fellow Kenyans, my fellow East Africans,

For 27 agonizing days, two of our own, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, have been missing. These are not just names; they are young, courageous Kenyans who dared to believe in a more just and democratic future for our region. They were abducted in broad daylight in Kaliro, Uganda, on October 1, 2025. Their disappearance is an affront to everything we hold dear: the rule of law, the sanctity of life, security of the person, and many other fundamental rights guaranteed to every human being.

What has followed their abduction is a grotesque miscarriage of justice that should chill every citizen of East Africa. We have witnessed a denial of responsibility from the Ugandan authorities, who claim to have no knowledge of their whereabouts, despite credible reports implicating their security forces. This denial was given a veneer of legitimacy by the High Court in Uganda, which dismissed a habeas corpus application—a sacred legal remedy meant to protect citizens from unlawful detention. The court’s declaration that it “cannot squeeze blood from a stone” is not just a legal finding; it is a declaration of impunity. It tells us that in our region, the state can disappear its critics and sanitize its action through courts of law.

Equally deafening is the silence from our own government. The initial assurances from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have evaporated into a void of inaction and indifference. To our government, I ask: Where is the outrage? Where is the diplomatic pressure? Where is the demand for the safe return of your citizens? The primary duty of any government is the protection of its people, at home and abroad. On this fundamental test, the current administration has failed Bob Njagi, Nicholas Oyoo, and the entire nation of Kenya. This silence is not diplomacy; it is complicity.

This tragic case is not an isolated incident. It is a symptom of a much deeper and more virulent disease spreading across East Africa. A dark cloud of repression is descending upon our region, threatening to extinguish the hard-won freedoms we have fought for. We are witnessing a coordinated assault on dissent, where governments appear to be collaborating to silence activists, journalists, and any citizen who dares to speak truth to power.

The failure of the rule of law in any one East African country inevitably undermines stability, security, and prosperity across the entire region. Our nations are bound together by geography, trade, migration, and shared aspirations for peace and development. We even share kin across borders. When institutions in one country collapse under corruption, impunity, or political manipulation, borders cannot contain the consequences of broken families affected by instability and political terror. The integrity of governance in East Africa is a collective responsibility.

In Kenya, the very streets that once symbolized our vibrant democracy have been turned into scenes of brutal repression against our youth. In Tanzania, the hope for reform has been replaced by the jailing of opposition figures and the abduction of those who come to bear witness. And in Uganda, the machinery of the state has been perfected to crush any and all opposition. The abduction of Kenyans in Uganda, and of Kenyan and Ugandan activists in Tanzania, points to a terrifying new reality of cross-border tyranny.

Therefore, we demand immediate and decisive action:

To the Government of Kenya: Break your silence. Immediately summon the Ugandan Ambassador and use every diplomatic, economic, and legal tool at your disposal to demand the safe and immediate return of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo. Your duty is to them, not to the false comfort of regional diplomacy. To the Government of Uganda: You are a signatory to international human rights conventions. You cannot claim to be a modern state while engaging in the barbaric practice of enforced disappearances. Produce Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo. Investigate this heinous crime and hold the perpetrators, no matter their rank, accountable. To the East African Community and the African Union: Your silence is a betrayal of your founding principles. You cannot be a club of leaders who protect each other from accountability. You must be a community of peoples, united by shared values. I call on you to publicly condemn these actions and establish an independent, region-wide inquiry into the escalating crisis of enforced disappearances.

To the families of Bob and Nicholas, we share your pain and stand with you in solidarity. To the brave young people of Kenya and East Africa who continue to fight for justice, do not despair. Your courage is not in vain.

We stand at a crossroads. We can either accept this descent into authoritarianism, or we can rise together and demand a future rooted in justice, accountability, and unwavering respect for human rights. I have made my choice. I choose to fight for a Kenya, and an East Africa, where no parent has to fear their child will be disappeared for speaking their mind. I choose to fight for a government that serves its people, not one that preys on them.

Together, we can Reset, Restore, and Rebuild the foundations of justice in our land.

Signed: Hon. David K. Maraga: Former Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya