Kenya: Tanzanian opposition figure Twaha Mwaipaya abducted near Nairobi, Amnesty demands his location

Twaha Mwaipaya, a Tanzanian dissident who sought refuge in Kenya, was abducted on the afternoon of Sunday, October 25, 2026, in Kamulu, Machakos County, east of Nairobi. The information was reported by Amnesty International, which is calling on Kenyan authorities to locate him quickly and ensure his safety.

According to the account provided by Chadema, Tanzania's main opposition party, Mwaipaya was traveling by taxi to visit friends when men in three vehicles intercepted him. John Kitoka, the party's foreign affairs secretary, who is also in exile in Kenya, stated that the kidnappers "surrounded him and took him away." He expressed fear for the missing man's life, noting that such abductions rarely lead to police involvement.

In his thirties, Mwaipaya is a well-known figure. A former leader of the Chadema youth wing, he was imprisoned in 2022 for criticizing the government before leaving Tanzania last year. Since his exile, he has continued to challenge the authorities before his approximately 600,000 followers on Instagram.

A recurring scenario on Kenyan soil

This case is part of a documented series of events. In October 2024, four Turkish refugees were abducted in Nairobi and forcibly returned to Turkey. In November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was arrested in the Kenyan capital with the support of local authorities and subsequently taken to Kampala. In January 2025, Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted in Nairobi before being released following mobilization by NGOs and the media. In February 2026, another Tanzanian activist, Mshabaha Hamza, suffered the same fate.

Amnesty International describes a "growing and worrying" trend of transnational repression: states pursuing their opponents beyond their borders with the passivity or complicity of the host country. Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi believes that Kenya is no longer a safe haven for East Africans engaged in the struggle against political oppression.

In Tanzania, the opposition accuses the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan of harshly suppressing its adversaries and claims that several thousand protesters were killed during last year's elections—allegations that have not been confirmed by independent sources. Neither Nairobi nor Dar es Salaam had publicly responded to Mwaipaya's disappearance.

The right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement are binding on the African states that have ratified them. As long as Twaha Mwaipaya remains missing, the value of these commitments is at stake, both in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent.