San Francisco Frontiers - Cross-border abductions threaten Kenya's status as dissident refuge

Kenya has for decades offered refuge to dissidents from across a region full of repressive governments, but lately its status as a safe haven has looked less secure.

Margwe, who runs social media for Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, has been in hiding in Kenya for just over a year following a wave of violent abductions in his home country ahead of elections in October 2025.

On Sunday, he was ambushed along with another Chadema member, Twaha Mwaipaya, while riding in a taxi in Kenya's Machakos county.

A 4x4 vehicle forced their taxi off the road and three masked men emerged with guns.

"One ran to my side...blocked my door with one hand and the rear door with the other," Margwe told AFP. He forced his way out, knocked the man down and fled.

But Mwaipaya, a Chadema youth leader who was imprisoned in Tanzania in 2022 for criticising the government, was taken away and remains missing.

He had been posting messages on social media denouncing Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, whom the opposition accuses of ordering the killing of thousands of people during last year's election.

They had received threats on social media.

"Tanzanians were telling us: 'Nairobi is not far. We're going to come and get you.' And that's exactly what happened," Margwe said.

"I'm very worried about my safety," he added.

- 'Cross-border repression' -

Tanzanian rights activist Maria Sarungi said Tuesday that Hassan's "notorious death squad in Kenya" was behind the abduction.

Sarungi was herself abducted in Nairobi in January 2025, but was released hours later following intense lobbying by rights groups and the media.

Mwaipaya's abduction is being investigated, his lawyer said, but a police spokesperson told AFP he was unaware of the case. Kenya's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Amnesty International fears Kenya is in "cahoots with its regional neighbours to facilitate... cross-border repression", said the rights group's Kenyan director George Morara.

In May 2025, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi acknowledged that his government had "cooperated with the Ugandan authorities" in the abduction of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi.

Besigye later resurfaced in Uganda, where he is standing trial for treason.

In October 2024, four Turkish nationals were abducted in Nairobi and forcibly returned to Turkey despite having refugee status.

In June 2026, a South Sudanese man who had denounced corruption in his country suffered the same fate. He was taken to South Sudan, but ultimately resurfaced in Kenya several weeks later.

Rights groups say dozens of Kenyans have also been abducted by their own security forces for taking part in anti-government protests.

- 'Nothing but hell' -

"The foundations upon which that world order was set are increasingly crumbling," said Amnesty director Morara.

"Actors across regions are coming together to support each other in their effort to roll back the gains of democracy," he added.

Kenyans have also been abducted in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.

Last year, Kenyan rights activist Boniface Mwangi was kidnapped after travelling to Tanzania to support opposition figure Tundu Lissu, who is on trial for treason.

Mwangi, now a candidate in Kenya's 2027 presidential election, was beaten for days and subjected to sexual torture before being released.

"Being abducted is the most violent thing that can happen to you," he told AFP. "Because during the time you are being held, you don't know whether you’re going to live or die. Your mind is nothing but hell."

M.Hill--SFF