The 36 were members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), one of Uganda's biggest opposition parties, and were charged in Uganda for the offense of travelling to Kenya "for the purpose of providing or receiving terrorist training". 

The safety of foreign citizens became uncertain as four Turkish nationals residing in Kenya as refugees were abducted by armed men and repatriated.

In an attempt to quell the rising global condemnation, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said the repatriation was done in October at the request of the Turkish government.

“Kenya acceded to this request on the strength of the robust historical and strategic relations anchored on bilateral instruments between our respective countries,” the PS said.

A month later Kizza Besigye, Uganda's prominent government critic was abducted alongside his aide Hajj Obeid Lutale during a visit to Nairobi for Martha Karua’s book launch. 

Besigye has faced charges relating to security and possession of firearms illegally after being taken to a Ugandan military jail where he was detained and is now facing trial.

The pair were allegedly transported back to Uganda via the eastern border by persons whose identity has remained undisclosed.

Besigye's abduction sparked rage in the capital as a battery of lawyers led by Karua headed to the Ugandan General Court Martial to represent him.

PS Sing'oei even dismissed reports indicating that Kenyan security agents may have been involved in the abduction.

Speaking to Citizen TV on November 20, Sing'oei noted that the government had not been informed about his visit to Nairobi, making it difficult for local authorities to facilitate his trip and offer additional security.

"It could have happened in our soil which is indeed a regrettable development but just to assure Kenya is a safe haven for many people and has been for many years and will be for years to come," he said.  

The dust had barely settled when Tanzanian activist and media editor Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted on January 12, 2025 at Chaka place, Nairobi, where she had gone to a hair salon.

According to reports, three men blocked her taxi some minutes past 3 p.m. and bundled her into a waiting Toyota Noah before driving her away.

She was released later in the evening after human rights groups such as Amnesty International Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) took up the matter. 

“Thank you very much, dear Kenyans and Tanzanians. I am safe and God is good. I will say thank you properly tomorrow,” Tsehai said in a video recorded after her release.

She is a vocal critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu and often publishes critical articles on her blog and social media accounts. 

Diplomatic erosion

The foreign abductees seem to share a common denominator of criticizing their Presidents and governments, a correspondence that has portrayed how international protocols are blatantly breached.

This has shown how Kenya operates under a degenerated diplomatic space of facilitating the return of foreigners to their oppressors.

Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, 49, was shot dead at a roadblock outside Nairobi by police in October 2022, two months after he had sought safety in Kenya after fleeing Pakistan. 

He had become a vocal critic of Pakistan's powerful military establishment after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022.

Police said the killing was a case of mistaken identity.

A court in Kajiado ordered the state to pay Arshad's family Ksh.10 million after ruling the use of deadly force against the Pakistani journalist was “arbitrary, un-proportional, illegal and unconstitutional”.

Politicians in Kenya have also chimed in on the conundrum, as the government deliberately turns a blind eye to the rising spate of abductions.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and others have called for expeditious action from the government.

Likewise, members of President William Ruto's government have also censured their boss over the incidents among them Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi who is still seeking answers over his son's abduction.

Leslie Muturi was released after being reportedly kidnapped in June 2024 in Nairobi's Lavington area.

"I have personally suffered as my son was abducted leaving my family in turmoil," Muturi said speaking to the press on Sunday.

Muturi noted that that despite being the Attorney General at the time, and having links to the national intelligence, he has never received details behind Leslie's abduction.

The matter exposes the decay that rests in the national intelligence as the current Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, has remained tight-lipped while her office is expected to play a significant role in addressing issues that threaten to cripple national security.

Kenya's investigative branch, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has also been keen to distance itself from the abductions and has chosen to ride on a "reaffirm our commitment to resolve the abduction cases" rhetoric.

Questions remain unanswered on how abductions conducted by unknown men, some having guns and handcuffs, easily go under the radar at the expense of a decomposing national image.