KEN 003 / 1126 / OBS 056
Abduction /
Enforced disappearance /
Transnational repression /
Risk of arbitrary detention
Kenya/Tanzania
2 November 2026
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Tanzania and Kenya.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed about the abduction and enforced disappearance amid concerns of acts of transnational repression of Mr Twaha Mwaipaya, a Tanzanian human rights defender and former youth leader of the opposition party Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA). Through his public advocacy, Mr Mwaipaya has mobilised for democracy, justice, human rights, civic freedoms and accountability in Tanzania, and has denounced government repression, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.
On 25 October 2026, at approximately 2:00 p.m., unidentified individuals travelling in three vehicles intercepted Mr Mwaipaya and abducted him while he was travelling by taxi with a friend to Kamulu, Machakos County, in Kenya, where he lives legally in exile since 2025. According to testimonies, a vehicle blocked their way and masked men prevented the doors from being opened. While his friend managed to escape, the abductors forced the taxi driver to drive away with Mr Mwaipaya still inside. At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr Mwaipaya’s whereabouts remain unknown, the identities of those responsible have not yet been established, and no investigation on his abduction has been opened. His abduction has been reported to the Kenyan Police, urging them to take action, and an habeas corpus has been filed on 28 October 2026.
The Observatory recalls that Mr Mwaipaya has faced repeated acts of harassment, threats, arbitrary arrests and detention in connection with his activism in the past in Tanzania. One such incident occurred on 30 June 2022, when he was arrested by the police in Morogoro while travelling from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam, over statements he had made online. His family and lawyers initially faced difficulties establishing where he was being held, prompting CHADEMA to file a habeas corpus application before the High Court of Tanzania. He was released on police bail after approximately five days in custody. In September 2023, he was reportedly arrested again after police prevented CHADEMA members from entering Ngorongoro for a scheduled political rally.
In April 2025, Mr Mwaipaya and eight colleagues were arrested after attending court proceedings in the treason case against Mr Tundu Lissu, a lawyer and former president of CHADEMA. They were taken to a wooded area in Ununio, where they were tortured, before being abandoned in the Pande wildlife area in Bagamoyo. He reported extensive bruising across his body and difficulty sitting down.
Following the violence surrounding Tanzania’s general elections on 29 October 2025, Mr Mwaipaya continued to denounce alleged abuses by government authorities and police, including violations affecting opposition members and young people. From September 2025 onwards, uniformed police officers repeatedly visited his home while searching for him, threatening his relatives and neighbours. Before leaving Tanzania, he was threatened with being “disappeared” permanently, with reference to the case of Mr Deusdedith Soka, who was abducted in 2024 and remains missing.
Due to these threats and continued surveillance, Mr Mwaipaya had to move to Kenya in 2025, where he continued his public advocacy while living in exile. His unlawful abduction in Kenya, where he is legally living, does not only contravene various provisions of Kenya’s Constitution but also Article 104 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, which establishes free movement of persons, labour, services, and the right of establishment and residence between the signatory states, including Tanzania and Kenya. His abduction in Kenya raises serious concerns about possible transnational repression, particularly given the threats he reportedly received in Tanzania before leaving the country and the continued targeting of human rights defenders and political activists beyond their country of origin in the region. This abduction and enforced disappearance have happened in a context where an increasing number of acts of transnational repression in East Africa has been documented by the Observatory in 2025 and 2026, with an established collaboration between Tanzania and Kenya.
The Observatory is gravely concerned about the abduction and enforced disappearance of Twaha Mwaipaya and the risk that he may be subjected to arbitrary detention, ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations linked to his human rights work and activism in Tanzania.
The Observatory calls for an investigation into all possible leads, including any potential cross-border links, and urges the Kenyan authorities to ensure that he is not forcibly returned to Tanzania, where he has previously faced threats and persecution.
The Observatory urges the Kenyan authorities to take all necessary measures to immediately establish Mr Mwaipaya’s whereabouts, ensure his safety and physical and psychological integrity, and investigate the circumstances of his abduction. The Observatory also calls on the Tanzanian authorities to refrain from any action that could endanger him and to ensure that he is not subjected to reprisals for his legitimate human rights work.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Kenya asking them to:
– Immediately establish the whereabouts of Twaha Mwaipaya and ensure his safety and physical and psychological integrity;
– Launch an independent, impartial and effective investigation into Twaha Mwaipaya’s abduction, including any potential links to his human rights work and political activism in Tanzania and any possible involvement of actors operating across borders, as well as previous acts of harassment that may constitute transnational repression, and bring those responsible to justice;
– Ensure that Twaha Mwaipaya is protected from torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and any other human rights violations, and that he is not forcibly returned to Tanzania in violation of the principle of non-refoulement;
– Take effective measures to prevent acts of transnational repression against human rights defenders and political activists seeking refuge in Kenya;
– Guarantee that human rights defenders and individuals seeking refuge in Kenya can exercise their legitimate activities without fear of abduction, intimidation or reprisals.
Please also write to the Tanzanian authorities, urging them to:
– Refrain from any action that could endanger Twaha Mwaipaya or expose him to reprisals in connection with his human rights work;
– Take all necessary measures to help establish the whereabouts of Twaha Mwaipaya and ensure his safety;
– End all forms of harassment and intimidation against human rights defenders and their families, and guarantee that they can carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisals.
Addresses
Kenya:
• H.E. Mr William Samoei Ruto, President of Kenya ; E-mail: feedback@president.go.ke, X: @WilliamsRuto
• Mr. Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration of Kenya ; E-mail: cs.interior@kenya.go.ke, X: @kipmurkomen
• Dr. Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services of Kenya, Email: ps@interior.go.ke
• Hon Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya ; E-mail: info@mfa.go.ke, X: @MusaliaMudavadi
• H.E. Ms. Fancy Chepkemoi Too , Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kenya to the United Nations in Geneva; E-mail: mission.kenya@ties.itu.int / geneva@kenyamission.ch / geneva@mfa.go.ke, X: @KenyaMissionUNG
• H.E. Mr Bitange Ndemo, Ambassador of Kenya to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union ; E-mail: info@kenyabrussels.com, X: @KeinBelgium
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Kenya in your respective countries.
Tanzania:
• H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Email: press@ikulu.go.tz, X: @SuluhuSamia
• Hon. Patrobas Paschal Katambi, Minister for Home Affairs of Tanzania, Email: ps@moha.go.tz
• Hon. Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania, E-mail: nje@nje.go.tz, X: @mfa_tanzania
• Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva; E-mail: ubalozi@tanzania-mission.ch.
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Tanzania in your respective countries.
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Paris-Geneva, 2 November 2026
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
• E-mail: alert@observatoryfordefenders.org
• Tel FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
• Tel OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39
