The president of the leading opposition political party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, has joined Kenyans in condemning the alleged abductions of Kenyan activists in the ongoing protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
Kyagulanyi said that he understands the pain of illegal arrests, as it has always been reflected in his protests, in which many of his supporters have been brutally arrested and detained by the security agencies in Uganda.
“We in Uganda understand the pain of illegal arrests, abductions, and enforced disappearances, which are a common occurrence in our country. I join all persons of conscience in condemning these abductions and call upon the Kenyan authorities to urgently release all those illegally detained. Uphold the rights of all citizens, including those opposed to the finance bill 2024,” Kyagulanyi said.
According to Kyagulanyi, over four young Kenyan activists have been purportedly abducted by Kenyan security agencies, including Gabriel Oguda, Drey Mwangi, Shad Khalif, and Osama Otero, among others.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has revealed that three social media influencers have been abducted in the past three days, urging the unconditional and immediate release of activists abducted by security agencies.
However, Davji Atellah, the Secretary-General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU), has posted on X that a few abductees have been released at the expense of others.
“Our colleague Austin Omondi has been released. We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the impunity of this government. The threats, intimidations, and acts of fear-mongering cannot work,” Atellah said.
Over the past week, there has been escalating agitation among the Generation Z youths, initially against the Finance Bill 2024, which increases the cost of living in Kenya. However, the protests have extended to other grievances, such as unemployment, voiced by young Kenyans online.
According to Atellah, the increasing dissent within the leaderless movements has left the government in a state of confusion concerning identifying and controlling those suspected to be organizing the protests. He said that the police have resorted to abductions to intimidate the protesters.
