Tanzanian authorities in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday abducted and forcibly disappeared Mwabili Mwagodi, a Kenyan activist working in the country’s hotel sector. His whereabouts remain unknown, and the Kenyan and Tanzanian regimes have remained ominously silent.

His family confirms that Mwagodi was under state surveillance in Kenya before his abduction after he exercised his constitutional right to protest. On June 23, 2024, Mwagodi led a demonstration against the William Ruto regime during a church service in Nyahururu, Laikipia.

In retaliation, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations visited Mwagodi’s parents, issuing threats and intimidation in an apparent attempt to silence him and break his spirit through fear and familial pressure.

Kenya’s oppressive alliance with Tanzania in the use of brutal state machinery to crush activists is deliberate, coordinated, and criminal. These are the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime that has lost the legitimacy to govern.

We have not forgotten that just two months ago, Kenya was complicit in the abduction, torture, and sexual assault of activist Boniface Mwangi by the ruthless Tanzanian operatives. Ugandan lawyer and journalist Agather Atuhaire faced a similar degrading treatment after she and Mwangi had traveled to Tanzania to observe the sham trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

This pattern of repression, enabled by cross-border collusion, is a grave violation of local, regional, and international human rights law. The Kenya Human Rights Commission demands:

  1. Immediate and unconditional release of Mwagodi from unlawful detention.
  2. In the interim, full disclosure by the Tanzanian and Kenyan regimes on Mwagodi’s exact whereabouts, physical and mental condition, and immediate access to his family and legal counsel.
  3. An end to Kenya’s complicity in cross-border abductions, torture, and enforced disappearances.
  4. Independent investigations into the threats made against Mwagodi’s family by Kenyan security agencies.
  5. Regional and international accountability for Kenya and Tanzania’s repressive actions.