State and public officers must take note of claims by Kenyan activist Bob Njagi that Ugandan soldiers were reportedly sent to Kenya to help quell the 2024 Gen Z protests, disguised as local police.
Njagi shared the allegations during a discussion on Citizen TV’s JKLive on Wednesday, alongside fellow activist Nicholas Oyoo, who together endured 38 days in detention in Uganda.
The activists detailed harrowing experiences inside what they described as a “safe house” under military control near Kampala. Njagi claimed some of the personnel guarding them admitted to taking part in operations against the Gen Z demonstrations in Kenya while wearing Kenyan police uniforms.
"One shocking revelation is that when we got there in the first week, there were some soldiers who revealed to me that they participated in the Gen Z protests in Kenya," Njagi explained.
"They were actually moved from Uganda as military dressed in Kenya police uniform to come and quell the riots in Kenya. This is a collaboration between states. That's why what's happening in Kenya is resonating in Uganda and Tanzania."
The duo said they were held at a military training camp used by Uganda’s Special Forces Command, the unit tasked with protecting the First Family. Oyoo recounted repeated interrogations and physical abuse, including being caned and punched, as the officers sought details about their activism.
“On the second day, they interrogated us while having our phones. They ask you specific questions about the groups you’re in. When they think that you’ve not said what they should hear, they start caning and punching you," Oyoo said.
“I was caned twice. During the first interrogation, they called me out, took me somewhere and began asking me about my WhatsApp. They’re trying to push you towards some narratives of some sorts. When they think I’ve not said the right things, or it seems like I’m hiding something, they cuff me to a chair and take sticks to cane us.”
Njagi allegedthat the Ugandan authorities were acting on incorrect information that they had travelled to mobilise youth against the government.
“I think they had been given wrong intelligence, thinking that we were on a mission to mobilise the youth, which they were totally misinformed. They had 38 days of doing investigations but have not taken us to court or charged us with any crimes to date,” he stated.
He called on Ugandan officials to release all political detainees, including opposition leader Kizza Besigye and Amos Rwangomani, brother of the Internal Affairs Minister, who he said shared the same detention cell.
