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The Kenyan government has for the first time acknowledged its involvement in the abduction of prominent Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was forcibly taken from Nairobi late last year. The admission comes during mounting scrutiny over democratic backsliding in East Africa.
Besigye, 68, a former physician to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and long-time political rival, was seized by armed men in Kenya’s capital in November 2024. He resurfaced days later before a Ugandan military court, sparking outrage from rights groups and raising serious questions about regional cooperation in political repression.
While Kenya had previously denied any part in the incident, Foreign Secretary Musalia Mudavadi reversed that position during a television interview on Tuesday evening. Speaking on Citizen TV, he said: “Kenya cooperated with the Ugandan authorities. (Uganda) is a friendly nation. He (Kizza Besigye) was not seeking asylum. He had not come to say that he was seeking asylum. Had he said that, maybe the treatment would have been different.”
Mudavadi defended the move as being in Kenya’s broader strategic interest, adding, “We have to partner with our East African states and sometimes we have to manage those relations very carefully for the broader national interest.”
Besigye is now on trial for treason, a charge that carries the death penalty. Rights organisations have condemned the proceedings as politically motivated, noting their timing ahead of Uganda’s upcoming January 2026 elections, in which the 80-year-old Museveni intends to run again.
The case was moved from a military tribunal to a civilian court earlier this year after Besigye began a hunger strike in protest. On Wednesday, his latest court appearance ended with another delay, as the hearing was adjourned until May 29. One of his lawyers, Erias Lukwago, expressed frustration, calling the delay “very disappointing” and accusing the court of denying Besigye’s right to bail.
Observers say the case is emblematic of a growing crackdown on dissent across East Africa. In neighbouring Tanzania, opposition leader Tundu Lissu is also facing treason charges ahead of elections scheduled for October. Several foreign activists who travelled to observe his trial were recently detained and expelled from the country. Meanwhile, a Kenyan activist and a Ugandan journalist remain missing after their arrest by Tanzanian authorities.
