Betrayal: Government remains silent as its citizens are abducted, tortured in Tanzania

Cases of Kenyans being abducted, tortured and detained without due process in foreign countries are on the rise, yet President William Ruto’s administration has remained conspicuously silent—drawing criticism from human rights defenders and legal experts.

At the centre of the criticism are President Ruto and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, both constitutionally mandated to protect Kenyan citizens at home and abroad. Instead, in each reported case, victims have been left to fend for themselves.

Human rights activist Mwabili Mwagodi is the latest victim of cross-border abduction.

He was seized in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by suspected state agents, detained for three days, and injected with an unknown substance. He was later dumped in Diani, Kenya, weak, incoherent, and in visible pain.

The government has yet to issue a statement on his ordeal.

Mwagodi’s abduction comes just two months after similar treatment was reported by Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire, who were abducted in Dar es Salaam while showing solidarity with detained Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Sexually assaulted

Both Mwangi and Atuhaire reported being tortured, sexually assaulted, and dumped at their respective borders.

Eric Mukoya, Executive Director of the International Commission of Jurists – Kenyan Section, described the government’s silence as “an embarrassment,” accusing it of betrayal and abdication of duty.

“We are embarrassed to have a government elected by the people, only for it to turn its back on them,” said Mukoya. “The President has absconded his duty to ensure the safety of all Kenyans, including those abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has failed the diplomacy test.”

Mukoya added that Kenya’s foreign policy has become hollow, prioritising trade deals over citizen protection. “They are telling Kenyans in the diaspora that they’re on their own. That is a profound betrayal.”

The Police Reforms Working Group – Kenya (PRWG-K), a coalition of 20 human rights organisations, also condemned the State’s inaction, citing institutional indifference from agencies like the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“The shrinking civic space in Kenya and the wider East African region is alarming,” the group stated. “This treatment reflects a pattern of state-enabled abuse and impunity.”

Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houhton said the abduction, torture and abandonment of Mwagodi on the Kenyan border by suspected Tanzanian state agents betrays the further deterioration of the Tanzanian authorities’s respect for the rights of East African citizens.

“That the Kenyan government remains silent once more betrays a sense of helplessness in the face of violations against its citizens working abroad,” he said.

He added: “Whether it is Kenyans facing the death penalty in Vietnam, domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, undocumented workers in the USA or government critics in Tanzania, the Kenyan government has an obligation to provide counsellor services and protection against harm.” 

Kenya is a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which prohibits torture, slavery, and inhuman treatment, as well as the East African Community Treaty which commits members to upholding rule of law and human rights.

“These laws are not optional; they are binding obligations that law enforcement must uphold without exception,” said the police reforms working groups.

Following the abductions, Mudavadi suggested Kenyans abroad should “carry their own burdens” if they choose to “export activism.”

Speaking in Morocco on 23 May 2025, he remarked: “You will have yourself to blame if you import bad manners to your host country. Respect their laws.”

President Ruto has also faced backlash for dismissing peaceful protests at home as a result of “poor parenting,” and recently instructed police to shoot looters in the legs—comments interpreted as encouraging state violence.

Demand accountability

Instead of demanding accountability from neighbouring governments, Ruto has focused on silencing domestic dissent.

Human rights defenders argue this signals to regional regimes that they can abuse Kenyan citizens without fear of diplomatic consequences.

Political analyst Prof. Peter Kagwanja warned that East Africa is experiencing a democratic backslide.

“Tanzania is already authoritarian. Uganda is authoritarian. Kenya is now drifting in the same direction despite civic resistance,” Kagwanja said. “Democracy is in recession in East Africa.”

He added that the coordinated clampdown on dissent across borders has made authoritarianism a disturbing pillar of regional integration.

In a recent interview, Mudavadi defended Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu’s deportation of Kenyan activists and lawyers—including Martha Karua, LSK Council Member Gloria Kimani, and journalist Lynn Ngugi—claiming Suluhu had a right to defend her country’s sovereignty.

“I won’t protest her remarks. There is truth in them. Sometimes our freedoms in Kenya go too far,” Mudavadi said, though he later promised to “seek more details” about the arrests—a promise yet to be fulfilled.

Mukoya called the abductions “a systematic campaign to suppress dissent, even if it means breaking international laws.”

He emphasised Kenya’s obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees inalienable and indivisible rights.

“These are not optional commitments. States must protect all individuals, regardless of political opinion,” he said.

Mukoya also warned of the “weaponisation of fear” and misuse of the judiciary and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to silence dissent through questionable terrorism charges.

“The ODPP must not be used to harass activists,” he said, urging Parliament and the Judiciary to assert their independence and uphold the rule of law.

Kagwanja urged citizens across East Africa to unite in defence of civic space.

“If the leaders are collaborating to oppress, why shouldn’t the people collaborate to resist?” he posed, calling for joint protests and appeals to the African Union and its ECOSOC arm.