Three arrested after failed attempt to abduct Tanzanian activist in Kenya
Kenyan authorities have successfully foiled an abduction of a Tanzanian activist from Kenya, preventing a cross-border rendition to Tanzania.
Kenyan authorities have successfully foiled an abduction of a Tanzanian activist from Kenya, preventing a cross-border rendition to Tanzania.
In a notice issued by the Law Society of Kenya and Amnesty International, police officers drawn from Lukenya and Kyumbi police posts, alongside DCI detectives, together with other national and county security agencies, swiftly acted on Sunday, February 22, to foil the abduction of Mshabaha Hamza, a Tanzanian activist.
According to the notice issued on Monday, February 23, Hamza was allegedly attacked, drugged and injured before being dumped at the Lukenya stage.
Officers reportedly intercepted a vehicle linked to the incident.
They arrested three individuals, two Kenyans and one Tanzanian national, suspected of orchestrating the abduction.
The rights groups termed the rescue a decisive intervention that may have prevented Hamza’s forcible removal from Kenya, commending the officers for their swift action.
“The Law Society of Kenya and Amnesty International Kenya commend the swift, coordinated action taken yesterday, Sunday February 22, by officers from the Lukenya and Kyumbi Police Posts, DCI Kyumbi, and other national and county security and government agencies,” the statement read.
“The action led to the rescue of Tanzanian human rights defender Mshabaha Mshabaha Hamza and the arrest of three suspects involved in what appears to have been a violent, premeditated abduction and forceful rendition to Tanzania,” it added.
Hamza is a prominent Tanzanian human rights defender who has been active in regional advocacy on democracy, accountability and justice, particularly following Tanzania’s 2025 post-election unrest.
He is also a member of the Pan-African Solidarity Network, a collective that campaigns against authoritarianism across the continent.
The groups, however, said Kenya needed to uphold its constitutional and international obligations to safeguard individuals within its territory, especially human rights defenders facing heightened risks.
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The organisations called for a complete, transparent and impartial investigation into the identities, motives and possible networks behind the alleged abduction and further urged authorities to pursue accountability not only for the suspects already arrested but also for any individuals, whether in Kenya or abroad, who may have planned, financed or directed the attack.
“Attempts to abduct, harm or silence activists violate fundamental freedoms across the East African region,” the statement read in part, warning against Kenya being used as a base for transnational repression or unlawful rendition.
The recent incident comes at a time when Kenya has been accused of colluding with other East African countries to abduct and forcefully deport activists and government dissenters to be prosecuted in their countries.
In January 2025, a Tanzanian activist, Maria Sarungi, a prominent human rights defender and a critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, was forcibly taken in the Kilimani area of Nairobi by three armed men but was later released.
Before her supposed abduction, Uganda’s opposition figure Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi in late 2024. He was forcibly returned to Uganda for a military trial. He is still in detention without a proper trial.
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