Cherargei defends Uganda after abduction of Kenyan activists in Kampala
By Kenneth Mwenda, October 2, 2025Senator Kiprotich Arap Cherargei has come out strongly in defence of the Ugandan government following the reported abduction of two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo.
The activists were taken in Uganda while participating in the campaign trail of National Unity Platform presidential candidate Bobi Wine.
On his X account on Thursday, October 2, 2025, Cherargei said Kenyan activists should stop exporting bad manners to other countries.
“Our Kenyan activists should stop exporting bad manners to other countries because in Kenya there is too much freedom to them,” he wrote.
“The Uganda government must deal with anyone that wants to undermine or threatened their national security & integrity. These gentlemen should ask what happened to their fellow activists led bony mwangi & others a few months while trying to export bad manners to Tanzania.”
Watch Bob Njagi speaking about his 2024 abduction ordeal.
Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo
Njagi, who is the Chairman of the Free Kenya Movement, and Oyoo, the group’s secretary general, had travelled to Uganda with two Ugandan companions. Once in Kampala, the Ugandans returned home, leaving the Kenyans to join Bobi Wine’s campaign.
Videos from the campaign show Njagi actively participating, speaking on stage, and moving with Wine’s entourage across Kamuli District and Buyende.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, their mission turned dangerous. While stopping at a petrol station to repair their car, four armed men arrived in a greyish van, accompanied by a woman in the front seat.
They forced Njagi and Oyoo into the vehicle, switching off their phones soon after. A friend who was with them was later released, but the two activists remain unaccounted for. The friend said he does not know where they were taken or which authorities were involved.
In a strongly worded statement shared via his official X account on Wednesday night, Bobi Wine said the duo was seized “mafia-style” from a petrol station in Kireka and whisked away to an undisclosed location.
“We strongly condemn the abduction by armed operatives, of Kenyan activists and human rights defenders Bob Nyagi and Nicholas Ayoo. The two were picked up mafia-style this afternoon from a petrol station in Kireka and driven off to an unknown destination!” Bobi Wine stated.
This incident has drawn parallels with the abduction of Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania earlier this year. At that time, both were detained and later released near the border, reporting cases of mistreatment during their detention.
For Njagi, this is not an isolated case; he was previously abducted last year alongside the Longton brothers over links to anti-government protests and went missing for over a month.