The Uganda Law Society has released a statement which strongly condemns the reported abduction of Twaha Mwaipaya, a Tanzanian opposition activist, who was kidnapped in Machakos, near Nairobi.

According to the Uganda Law Society (ULS), reports indicate that 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.

“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 (EAC),” writes Asiimwe Anthony, the ULS Vice President.

The law society lists the pollical refugees, including the ULS President, Isaac K. Ssemakadde SC, who fled through Rwanda on 14 February 2025 and has temporarily lived in Kenya, just like Twaha Mwaipaya.

“It is an indictment of our region that public-interest voices must choose between speaking out and remaining safe in their own countries. Regrettably, even EAC countries to which they flee are proving unsafe. Robert Kabera, a former Rwanda Defence Force soldier who fled to Uganda in 2020, was found beheaded in Mpigi District on 17 October 2026. Sadly, 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, worsening their trauma, permanently separating their families, and imposing on them unconscionable financial and personal hardships.

“If Tanzania has a case against Twaha Mwaipaya, it should pursue his extradition and afford him due process and a fair trial in accordance with the laws of Kenya.”

No criminal allegation justifies bypassing the law and denying a person access to judicial safeguards. The denial of these protections to Dr. Kizza Besigye and his aide, Obeid Lutale, by the governments of Uganda and Kenya is still a fresh wound.

The Society calls upon the East African Court of Justice and the judiciaries of all EAC Partner States to take judicial notice of these violations and abuses, which stain the integrity of their institutions.

The Heads of the respective judiciaries must 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 Heads of the African Union, United Nations, and resident diplomatic missions also shouldn’t remain silent.