The Uganda Law Society has strongly condemned the reported abduction of Twaha Mwaipaya, a Tanzanian opposition activist, who was kidnapped in Machakos, near Nairobi. According to the Uganda Law Society, Mr. Mwaipaya was seized by unidentified individuals at approximately 2:00 p.m. on 25 October 2026 in Kamulu, Machakos County, Kenya, while travelling by taxi to visit friends. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
The Uganda Law Society notes that a wide and systematic pattern of enforced disappearances, abductions, arbitrary arrests, and intimidation of dissenters across the region has forced numerous political activists, journalists, lawyers, judges, and human rights defenders into exile within the East African Community. The law society lists the political refugees, including the ULS President, Isaac K. Ssemakadde SC, who fled through Rwanda on 14 February 2025 and has temporarily lived in Kenya.
The abduction of Mr. Mwaipaya is not an isolated incident. Robert Kabera, a former Rwanda Defence Force soldier who fled to Uganda in 2020, was found beheaded in Mpigi District on 17 October 2026. The Ugandan government has not yet accounted for his death. The Ugandan lawyers warn that this climate of transnational repression is increasingly forcing persecuted EAC residents to seek refuge elsewhere in Africa and beyond.
The Uganda Law Society is calling for the East African Court of Justice and the judiciaries of all EAC Partner States to take judicial notice of these violations and abuses. The Society urges the Heads of the respective judiciaries to individually or collectively speak out and demonstrably reassure EAC residents of their readiness to compel governments to cease and desist from transnational repression and recommit to constitutionalism, human dignity, and the rule of law.
The law society also appeals to the Heads of the African Union, United Nations, and resident diplomatic missions not to remain silent on these issues. According to Asiimwe Anthony, the ULS Vice President, it is an indictment of the region that public-interest voices must choose between speaking out and remaining safe in their own countries.
If Tanzania has a case against Twaha Mwaipaya, the Uganda Law Society suggests that it should pursue his extradition and afford him due process and a fair trial in accordance with the laws of Kenya. The Society emphasizes that no criminal allegation justifies bypassing the law and denying a person access to judicial safeguards.
The denial of protections to Dr. Kizza Besigye and his aide, Obeid Lutale, by the governments of Uganda and Kenya is still a fresh wound. The Uganda Law Society's statement highlights the need for the region's governments to respect human rights and the rule of law, and for the judiciary to ensure that these rights are protected.
Key points
- The Uganda Law Society condemns the abduction of Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya in Kenya.
- The abduction is part of a regional pattern of enforced disappearances and transnational repression.
- The Uganda Law Society calls for the judiciaries of EAC Partner States to take judicial notice of these violations and abuses.
