The High Court in Kampala has ordered Ugandan police to produce two missing Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, “dead or alive” within seven days.
The activists disappeared two weeks ago after reportedly being abducted in Kampala, with suspicions they are being held in a military facility.
Human rights organization Freedom Hive Uganda confirmed the ruling, stating that the order was issued by Justice Peter Kinobe.
“Earlier today, we attended the habeas corpus hearing of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo at the High Court Civil Division in Kampala,” the statement partly read.
“Justice Peter Kinobe ordered the government to produce Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo dead or alive within seven days. The Honourable Judge expressed his commitment to upholding the constitutional rights of the two activists, who have been held in unlawful military detention for 14 days.”
The ruling follows a petition filed by two Ugandan lawyers on October 6, seeking habeas corpus orders for the release of the missing activists.
According to the application, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were allegedly arrested on October 1 in Kaliro District, Eastern Uganda, and have since been held at a military facility in Mbuya, Kampala.
The petitioners argued that the activists’ continued detention violates Ugandan law, which mandates that suspects must be brought before a court within 48 hours — a right that Njagi and Oyoo have reportedly been denied.
On the same day the petition was filed, October 6, the Ugandan National Police (UNP) denied any involvement in the activists’ abduction, following five days of growing public scrutiny.
“On the matter of the two Kenyan activists who disappeared in Uganda, I am not briefed by the police that we have them in our custody. So at the moment, I do not have any information to the effect that they are in police custody,” UNP Spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke stated during a State of Security briefing.
“If I had any information on the whereabouts of the two activists, I would present it here without any reservation.”
Reports indicate Njagi and Oyoo were abducted while attending a political campaign meeting at a petrol station in Uganda, where they were scheduled to meet National Unity Platform presidential candidate Bobi Wine, the country’s main opposition leader.
