Activists Found Injured After Vanishing During Kizza Besigye Protests: Questions Mount Over Their Treatment

Muteti and Otieno discovered days apart; activists demand accountability as concerns grow over safety during demonstrations

In a troubling development that has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s activist community, two young men who participated in Nairobi’s recent demonstrations have been found alive but in distressing condition after going missing for several days. The discoveries have raised serious questions about what happens to people during police detention and have sparked calls for urgent investigation and accountability.

The first activist to be found was Boniface Mulinge Muteti, who disappeared on Monday, September 21, after leaving fellow protesters in the Central Business District to print a petition. For five agonising days, Muteti’s whereabouts remained unknown, causing deep worry among his friends and the activist community. On Friday morning, he was finally discovered in the Lukenya area of Machakos, injured and confused. He was immediately taken to Sanel Hospital in Mlolongo, where he began receiving treatment for his injuries.

Just one day later, on Saturday morning, September 26, another activist named Collins Otieno was found along Thika Road. Like Muteti, Otieno was in a concerning state weak, injured, and disoriented. A boda boda rider who happened to be passing by at around 4:30 in the morning spotted Otieno and, showing true compassion, immediately took him to Neema Uhai Hospital in the Kasarani area for urgent medical care.

What makes Otieno’s disappearance particularly troubling is the reason he went missing in the first place. According to Vocal Africa, an organisation working on human rights and civic space issues, Otieno had actually gone out to help search for Muteti after his colleague went missing. He was trying to report Muteti’s disappearance and help locate him when Otieno himself reportedly vanished. The fact that two activists helping each other both ended up missing and injured paints a worrying picture.

“Comrade Collins Otieno has been found. He was dumped along Thika Road. A good Samaritan boda boda guy found him around 4:30am and rushed him to hospital. Like comrade Muteti, Collins is disoriented, weak, and injured,” Vocal Africa’s Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid explained in a statement released on the weekend.

The word “dumped” in Khalid’s statement is significant. It suggests that Otieno did not simply get lost or wander away. The choice of words indicates that his discovery along Thika Road may not have been accidental but rather the result of someone deliberately leaving him there. This raises serious questions about who was responsible for his condition and what exactly happened to him during the days he was missing.

Both Muteti and Otieno were among the activists who were arrested during Monday’s protests in the CBD. These demonstrations were part of a wider movement calling for the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has been in detention in Uganda facing charges of treason and misprision of treason. The protests reflected growing concerns across the region about political freedoms and the safety of activists and opposition figures.

Besigye’s case has been controversial from the start. The veteran Ugandan opposition leader disappeared from Nairobi in November 2024 under mysterious circumstances and subsequently appeared in Uganda in state custody. The exact details of how he got from Kenya to Uganda and whether Kenyan authorities were involved remain unclear. This lack of transparency has fueled suspicions and concerns among activists and human rights organisations across East Africa.

The Nairobi demonstrations were therefore a response not only to Besigye’s detention but also to the broader questions about how activism is treated in the region and whether activists can safely participate in peaceful protests. The arrests during these demonstrations suggested that the authorities were taking a hard line against protest activity. Now, with the discoveries of Muteti and Otieno, those concerns have been amplified significantly.

The conditions in which both activists were found injured, disoriented, and weak—have prompted urgent questions about what happened to them while they were missing. Were they detained? If so, where? Who was responsible for their care? How did they become injured? Why were they apparently left in locations far from where they were arrested? These are questions that demand answers, and activists are calling for full transparency and accountability.

For the families of these young men, the discovery that they are alive has brought relief, but it has also brought a new kind of pain. Seeing their loved ones injured and traumatised by whatever ordeal they went through has only deepened concerns about the treatment of detainees and the methods being used during protests.

The activist community in Kenya and beyond is watching closely to see how authorities respond to these incidents. There are growing calls for investigations into what happened, demands for transparency about detention procedures, and expectations that those responsible for any mistreatment will face accountability. Civil society organisations and human rights groups are mobilising to support Muteti and Otieno and to ensure that their cases do not fade from public attention.

As both men continue their recovery at their respective hospitals, their experiences serve as a powerful reminder of the real risks that activists face when they exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The incidents also raise important questions about police accountability, detention practices, and the protection of fundamental rights in Kenya.

The coming days and weeks will be crucial in determining whether authorities take these concerns seriously and whether the questions raised by Muteti and Otieno’s disappearances and discoveries will be properly investigated. For now, the activist community remains vigilant, and the cases of these two young men have become a focal point for broader demands for justice and accountability in how the state treats those who dare to speak out and organise for change.