Tanzanian human rights activist and former CHADEMA youth official Twaha Mwaipaya has reportedly been abducted in Kenya, raising fresh concerns about the safety of foreign activists in the country. According to Amnesty International Kenya, Mwaipaya was allegedly taken on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at around 2 p.m. in Kamulu, Machakos County, near Nairobi.
He was travelling by taxi to visit friends when unidentified individuals reportedly took him away. Amnesty said those involved were travelling in three vehicles, including a Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop. Amnesty has urged anyone with information about his whereabouts to come forward. “Authorities must urgently establish his whereabouts and ensure his safety,” Amnesty Kenya said in a statement shared on X.
Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai and members of the Pan African Solidarity Network have also raised concern over the incident, calling for urgent efforts to establish where Mwaipaya is being held.
Mwaipaya is known for his involvement in Tanzania’s opposition politics and human rights activism. He previously served as a youth coordinator within CHADEMA, one of Tanzania’s main opposition parties, and has been associated with its youth wing, BAVICHA. Mwaipaya’s reported abduction has renewed concerns over the continued targeting of Tanzanian activists in Kenya, with several similar incidents having been reported in recent years.
In January 2025, Tanzanian journalist and activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted by armed men in Nairobi’s Kilimani area after leaving a salon. She was released several hours later following public pressure and intervention by human rights organizations. Sarungi later said she believed the incident was linked to her criticism of the Tanzanian government and her work exposing political and governance issues. Another Tanzanian activist, Mshabaha Mshabaha Hamza, survived an attempted abduction in February 2026. According to Amnesty Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya, Mshabaha was attacked and reportedly drugged before being abandoned near Lukenya along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. Kenyan police intervened and arrested three suspects in connection with the incident. Rights organizations said they suspected the attackers had intended to forcibly return him to Tanzania.
The concerns are not limited to Tanzanian nationals.
In November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye was abducted while visiting Nairobi and later appeared before a military court in Uganda. His transfer raised serious questions about how a foreign opposition figure could be taken from Kenya without going through a formal extradition process.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly questioned the safety of activists and political dissidents from neighbouring countries who live in or travel to Kenya. Amnesty International has previously warned about what it describes as a growing pattern of cross-border abductions, where people critical of governments in their home countries are targeted while abroad.
In Mwaipaya’s case, however, it remains unclear who took him, where he was taken or why he was targeted.
