Activists' abductions: Defenders coalition demands answers, probe

Human rights defenders wheel Collins Otieno into Sanel Hospital in Mlolongo after he was found dumped along Thika Road. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders has demanded an independent investigation into the alleged abduction, secret detention and torture of two human rights defenders.

The Coalition condemned the abduction of Boniface Mulinge Muteti and Collins Otieno, who were among human rights defenders arrested in Nairobi’s Central Business District on 21 September 2026 during demonstrations calling for the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, following their abduction from Kenya and continued detention and trial in Uganda.

"Following the protest, the whereabouts of the two defenders became unknown as they were not booked in any police station, as required. Instead, they were held incommunicado in unknown locations other than gazetted police stations, where they were severely tortured and held under inhuman and degrading conditions," said Kamau Ngugi, Executive Director, Defenders Coalition.

Muteti was found alive in the Lukenya area of Machakos County at about 3 am on September 25 and taken for medical treatment.

 From his hospital bed, he alleged that he had been blindfolded, deprived of food, burned on his legs, forcibly shaved and severely mistreated.

He further alleged that his captors questioned him about his human rights activism, including why he was “causing trouble”, and demanded information about the financing of his activities.

"Collins Otieno was found on 26 September 2026 at approximately 4.30 a.m. after being abandoned along Thika Road. He was disoriented, weak and injured. He is currently receiving medical attention."

"The recovery of both defenders alive does not extinguish the State’s obligations. Their appearance after days of unacknowledged captivity raises urgent questions," Ngugi said.

The Defenders Coalition said the circumstances surrounding the two cases demand answers from the authorities, including who arrested or seized the men, where they were held, under whose authority they were interrogated and who was responsible for their injuries.

The organisation also wants an explanation for why the two were not booked into recognised police stations or brought before a court, and whether anyone ordered, facilitated or concealed their alleged treatment.

"The Defenders Coalition is concerned that the security agencies contravened constitutional provisions on arrested persons that require State authorities to immediately disclose the place of detention, provide reasons for the arrest, permit access to legal representation and family," he emphasised.

He further said the two were not presented before a court within 24 hours.

Activist Collins Otieno at a hospital in Mlolongo, Machakos County, on September 30, 2026, after his alleged abduction. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

The calls for accountability come against the backdrop of another alleged incident involving human rights defenders following protests on June 25.

The coalition said Muteti, Elisha Ochieng Alam, Otieno, Fredrick Ojiro, Christine Alubengo and Michael Ngige were arrested outside Parliament, bundled into a police truck and driven away.

They were allegedly not booked at any police station, while police denied holding them.

Several days later, the six were separately found abandoned in Nairobi, with the coalition alleging that they had been tortured and held in unknown locations under inhuman and degrading conditions.

The rights organisation said the June and September incidents point to what it described as an emerging pattern involving the arrest of human rights defenders during peaceful protests, their removal from recognised legal protections, detention in unknown locations, interrogation over their activism and subsequent abandonment with injuries.

"Taken together, these incidents reveal an emerging and systematic pattern in which human rights defenders are arrested in connection with peaceful protest, removed from the protection of the law, detained in unknown places, interrogated about their activism, tortured and subsequently abandoned with injuries in early hours of the morning."

"These patterns appear designed not only to harm the individual HRDs concerned, but also to intimidate civil society, discourage participation in peaceful assembly and silence scrutiny of public power," Ngugi decried.

The coalition has therefore asked the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to commence an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the alleged arrest, secret detention, torture and abandonment of Muteti and Otieno, as well as the June incidents.

It has also demanded that the Inspector-General of Police and the National Police Service publicly account for the arrest, movement, custody and reported transfer of the two defenders.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions have been urged to carry out specialised investigations and prosecute those directly responsible, as well as anyone who may have ordered, authorised, facilitated or concealed the alleged violations.

"Kenya is legally obligated to prevent, investigate and punish torture and protect human rights defenders. The prohibition against torture is absolute and cannot be justified by public demonstrations, political tensions, security concerns, superior orders or any other exceptional circumstances," Ngugi said.

"The State has a duty to protect human rights defenders, not to persecute them. Human rights defence is not a crime. Peaceful protest is not a crime," he added.

The coalition emphasised that the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998) and the African Commission’s Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Africa recognise the right of individuals and groups to peacefully promote and protect human rights.