Human rights activist Boniface Mulinge Muteti has been found injured in the Mlolongo area, four days after he disappeared during a demonstration in Nairobi calling for the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
Muteti went missing on Monday, September 21, 2026, during protests in Nairobi's Central Business District. According to accounts from fellow activists and court documents, he had left other demonstrators to go to a cybercafé along Aga Khan Walk to print a petition that protesters intended to present to government institutions.
Activist Sayialel Mankuyio said Muteti's last communication came after he had left the group. According to media reports, Muteti subsequently sent a message saying he had been arrested, after which his phone became unreachable.
His disappearance triggered a search by his family and fellow human rights defenders, who visited several police stations seeking information on his whereabouts.
Muteti's elder brother, Alex Ndambuki, said the family searched Kamukunji Police Station, Pangani Police Station, Central Police Station and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, but did not find him.
On Thursday, activist Francis Awino filed a petition at the Milimani Law Courts seeking orders compelling Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin to account for Muteti's whereabouts.
The petition states that Muteti was allegedly arrested on or about September 21 during the demonstration.
It further says organisers had notified the police on September 16 about the planned protest, including its proposed route and an estimated attendance of 300 people.
The demonstration was linked to demands for the release of Besigye, the Ugandan opposition figure who has remained in detention following his arrest and transfer from Kenya to Uganda.
Muteti had emerged as one of the activists publicly campaigning for Besigye's release and had participated in similar demonstrations in Nairobi. Reuters photographed him taking part in a Besigye protest in Nairobi on September 3.
On Friday, lawyer and human rights activist Hussein Khalid announced that Muteti had been found.
“Comrade Muteti Mulinge has been found. He was dumped last night around 3 am in the Lukenya area. He had to walk for a long distance to a Shell petrol station where he got a Good Samaritan who helped him with a phone to call his brother. He is disoriented, weak and injured. He is currently receiving treatment at Sanel Hospital in the Mlolongo area. Family, friends and comrades are proceeding there,” Khalid took to his X account.
The circumstances surrounding how Muteti reached Lukenya, who left him there and where he had been between his disappearance and discovery have not been established publicly.
The latest incident comes against the backdrop of previous reports involving Muteti and other activists.
In June, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights documented Muteti among six protesters it said were arrested outside Parliament during demonstrations marking the second anniversary of the 2024 Gen Z protests. KNCHR said the six were later found dumped along Langata Road and Ngong Road on June 27 after allegedly being held at an unknown location.
In July, Muteti also said he had been abducted during Saba Saba demonstrations in Nairobi, alleging that he was forced into the boot of a Subaru vehicle, beaten and threatened with death.
Muteti is now receiving treatment at Sanel Hospital in Mlolongo, as his family, friends and fellow activists gather to establish more details about his disappearance and what happened before he was found.