Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi
By Njoroge David
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have denied detaining Kenyan nationals, Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi.
The two activists were abducted on October 1, 2025, at a petrol station in Uganda’s Kaliro District while monitoring an opposition rally by presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine.
Their disappearance sparked protests in Nairobi, with activists marching to the Uganda High Commission on October 9, demanding their release. Civil society groups including Kongamano La Mapinduzi, Vocal Africa, and the Law Society of Kenya have filed petitions and staged demonstrations, while the Kenyan government has issued diplomatic protest notes seeking answers from Kampala.
The United Nations has also weighed in, with Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor urging Ugandan authorities to investigate and secure their release.
Colonel Silas Kamanda, a director at the Joint Staff Legal Services, stated in a sworn affidavit before the High Court in Kampala that the UPDF had “carried out investigations and searched all relevant detention facilities” but found “no entry relating to the said Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi between October 1, 2025, to date.”
“The said Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi are not within the custody of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces and we do not know their whereabouts,” noted Kamanda.
Witnesses earlier reported that masked men in military and civilian clothing bundled the pair into unmarked vehicles, prompting speculation that they were being held in military facilities such as Nalufenya or the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence headquarters.
The army’s response, filed through the Attorney General’s Chambers, followed a habeas corpus application by the men’s representatives demanding the army produce them in court or explain their detention.
Kamanda explained that the inquiry covered lock-up registers and custody records across UPDF facilities but yielded no evidence that the pair were ever held.
