Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed that two missing Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were arrested and held by Ugandan security agents.
The activists had disappeared for over five weeks, sparking widespread outrage among human rights groups and political observers across East Africa.
They were last seen in October, reportedly forced into a vehicle by masked men after attending a rally in support of opposition leader Bobi Wine, according to the BBC.
During a televised interview on Saturday, Museveni admitted that the men were detained, describing them as “experts in riots” who were “put in the fridge for some days.”
However, the president accused them of interfering in Uganda’s internal affairs and warned against foreign involvement in regional unrest.
“The ones who are doing that game here in Uganda will end up badly,” he said.
The longtime leader, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades and plans to contest next year’s election, said the activists were released after appeals from unnamed Kenyan leaders.
Njagi and Oyoo were welcomed by cheering supporters at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Njagi described their experience as terrifying, saying,
“Thirty-eight days of abduction was not easy.
We didn’t think that we were going to come out alive because we were being abducted by the military.”
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, confirmed their release came after “sustained diplomatic engagement between Kenya and Uganda.
Human rights organisation Vocal Africa called their release a victory for civic activism and regional solidarity
“Let this moment signal an important shift towards upholding the human rights of East Africans anywhere in the East African Community,” the group stated.
