Foreign Affairs Minister and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has stated that President William Ruto personally intervened to secure the release of activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo from Uganda.
Speaking to the media in Western Kenya following the Malava Constituency by-election campaigns on Friday, November 21, 2025, the Prime CS stated that the Head of State had phoned his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, to secure the release of the detained activists who had spent 38 days incommunicado.
Musalia stated that he had also written a letter to the Ugandan government requesting the release of the activists, who had been detained for a lengthy period after being abducted while campaigning for presidential candidate and opposition leader Bobi Wine.
“I personally wrote a letter to the President of Kenya William Ruto and he also spoke with his counterpart from Uganda, so that they be informed,” Mudavadi said.
Freedom of detained activists
He then rejected allegations that non-government individuals were involved in the release and return of the two abducted Kenyan activists, saying they were transferred to Kenya’s High Commissioner in Uganda, Joash Maangi, who then flew them to the Kenyan border in Busia.
Had other individuals been involved in the release of the two activists as alleged, they would have seen the matter through to its end, given that the Kenyan High Commissioner in Uganda, Maangi, serves in a government capacity rather than representing private interests.
Mudavadi noted that while those involved in the release of the Kenyans may not have acted with pure motives it would still be commendable to acknowledge their efforts.
Appeal to Kenyans
He went on to remind Kenyans that the Kenyan Constitution ceases to apply once they leave the country, and upon being in a foreign land, Kenyan laws no longer apply, requiring individuals to comply with the laws of the host nation. If they are broken, the individuals will be held accountable under the laws of that country.
It has been weeks since the release of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who, after being freed following days of public protest, emerged alongside civil groups and their families, praising former Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta for his involvement in their release.
