Nairobi, Kenya – Kenyan rights groups and Tanzanian opposition figures have called for urgent action after Amnesty Kenya reported that Tanzanian activist Twaha Mwaipaya was taken by unidentified people in Kamulu, Machakos County, on October 25.
Amnesty said Mwaipaya was reportedly seized at around 2 p.m. local time while travelling by taxi to visit friends. It said the people alleged to have taken him were using three vehicles, including a Toyota Land Cruiser hardtop, and urged anyone with information to come forward.
“Authorities must urgently establish his whereabouts and ensure his safety,” Amnesty said. Kenya’s Capital FM separately reported the account by Amnesty and the Defenders Coalition, but said the identity of those involved and Mwaipaya’s location had not been established.
An account posted by Tanzanian activist living in Kenya, Edger Mwakabela, citing witnesses, said three vehicles blocked Mwaipaya’s taxi and masked civilians took him away. The Chanzo has not independently verified that account or the reported abduction.
By Monday morning, no public statement had been issued by Kenyan security agencies. The Chanzo also found no Mwaipaya-specific notice on the public channels of the Kenya National Police Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Tanzania Police Force, Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Tanzania High Commission in Nairobi.
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Mwaipaya came to national attention through CHADEMA’s youth wing, the Baraza la Vijana la CHADEMA, known as BAVICHA. He once served as the council’s national mobilisation coordinator, including around 2022 when the group was campaigning for a new constitution and police reform.
In a 2022 interview with The Chanzo, Mwaipaya argued that political reform could not be deferred, saying: “We have not been satisfied and we have not relaxed in our demand for a new constitution.” He also criticised the concentration of power in the presidency and called for accountability over alleged police abuses.
Mwaipaya was previously held by police on several occasions, including in 2022, which forced CHADEMA to file a habeas corpus application, asking the court to require police to produce him, after his June 30 arrest in Morogoro.
CHADEMA deputy chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) John Heche said the party had tried overnight to obtain information from relevant Kenyan bodies and appealed to President William Ruto’s government to help find Mwaipaya. “We want Twaha to be found alive,” Heche wrote on X.
Kenya’s Linda Mwananchi Movement called for an independent inquiry, disclosure of Mwaipaya’s location and protection against any forced removal from Kenya. Digital-rights advocate Maxence Melo likewise urged Kenyan authorities to investigate and secure his safe return, but neither statement identified alleged perpetrators.
Mwaipaya’s alleged abduction in Kenya has renewed attention on why some Tanzanian activists and opposition figures live or work in Kenya.
Kenya has long been an accessible regional base for people seeking safety, maintaining political networks or continuing advocacy after facing threats, arrest, prosecution or restrictions at home.
A number of Tanzanian human-rights defenders had sought refuge in Kenya amid concerns over political and civic freedoms, particularly after the 2025 election period.
Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a journalist and activist who moved to Kenya after saying she had faced threats in Tanzania, was reportedly abducted in Nairobi in January 2025 and released later that day.
In February, Kenyan police rescued Tanzanian human-rights defender Mshabaha Mshabaha Hamza and arrested three suspects after an apparent attempt to take him to the Tanzania border.
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The two cases, including the latest one involving Mwaipaya, have made Kenya’s capacity to protect visiting or resident regional activists a central issue in reactions to Mwaipaya’s disappearance.
For now, however, the immediate questions remain factual: whether Mwaipaya is safe, where he is, and whether Kenyan authorities have opened an inquiry. None had been answered publicly by publication time.
