Premium
Bodies of two Kenyans killed in TZ still unaccounted for
Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi address journalists during a quarterly update on Kenya’s foreign policy at the Ministry headquarters in Nairobi on November 12, 2025.
The bodies of two Kenyans killed amidst post-election violence in Tanzania are yet to be found.
The two, one of whom was a teacher, were shot dead during the post-election violence in Tanzania, amidst allegations of the authorities disposing of bodies in undisclosed locations.
Eight Kenyans who were arrested during the violence have since been released, according to the government.
On Wednesday, the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi said that the government was pursuing the matter with a view of finding the body of John Ogutu and that of another Kenyan whose identity is yet to be revealed.
“I would like to update Kenyans on the status of our citizens in Tanzania, that eight Kenyans arrested in the different police stations across Tanzania have been released. Three Kenyans are still being held, two in Arusha and one in Dar es Salaam police stations,” said Mudavadi during a media briefing held at the ministry’s offices in Nairobi.
“However, there are two unresolved cases. One, a Kenyan by the name John Ogutu was shot dead on October 29, around 7.00 pm in Goba Centre, Ubungo District in Dar es Salaam. He was a teacher at Sky Schools iHi Rabson. His body has not been traced to date.”
Kenya has demanded answers from Tanzania on the fate of its citizens caught up in the post-election violence, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assuring Kenyans that they're still following up on the matter.
The government of Tanzania refuses to say where Ogutu's body was taken, with Mudavadi assuring the family of the late teacher that the government is still following up on the matter.
“Following Tanzania’s General Election on October 29, 2025, tensions arose due to perceptions of foreign interference by non-state actors from Kenya. Kenya recognises President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration and remains committed to cooperation under the EAC framework,” said Mudavadi.
He said the Kenyan High Commission in Tanzania was open and ready to assist Kenyans caught up in the post-election violence that has seen Tanzanians looking for their lost ones.
“The Kenyan High Commission in Dar-es-Salaam continues to provide consular support, including visa amnesty requests and the repatriation of affected citizens,” said Mudavadi.
The Government said it was working round the globe to ensure the safety of Kenya’s investments in Tanzania as well as protecting Tanzanian investments in Kenya.
“On the safety of Kenyans in Tanzania, we are working very closely with brothers and sisters in Tanzania, number one, to make sure that our investments are protected. There are many Kenyan companies that have invested in Tanzania, including the financial and agriculture sectors,” said Dr Abraham Korir Sing'oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs in Kenya.
On two Kenyan activists who had been abducted in Uganda, Mr Mudavadi said Kenya was involved in the negotiations for the release of the human rights activists of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who have since been reunited with their families.
“I would like to inform the country that the Ministry closely monitored the case of two missing Kenyan nationals, Mr Bob Njagi and Mr Nicholas Oyoo, who disappeared on October 1, 2025,” said Mudavadi.
“High-level diplomatic engagements between Kenya and Uganda eventually led to their release on Friday. They have since been reunited with their families.”
Sleeping on the job
The government denied concerns that it was sleeping on the job and only playing second fiddle when it comes to protecting Kenyan human rights activists in both Uganda and Tanzania, especially in Uganda where President Yoweri Museveni openly claimed placing the two in a "fridger".
“Kenya has not lost its soul. That's why we are speaking openly about what is happening in Kenya,” said Mudavadi.
The government also assured President Museveni that Kenya will not bar Uganda from accessing the Indian Ocean even though Mudavadi did not clearly state whether he would be granted permission to train his navy force on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
“We are aware of international conventions on landlocked countries and what we must do is to assist landlocked countries. Kenya is a responsible member of the international community and it is in our interest to facilitate any landlocked country that wishes to use the port of Mombasa,” said Mudavadi.
“We have not denied any landlocked country that access. And in any case what would be the value of the port if it does not generate revenue?”
On Tuesday in a radio interview during the presidential campaigns, President Museveni had warned about wars erupting in the future if landlocked African countries continue to be denied access to the Indian Ocean
He issued a bold warning, declaring that Uganda is “entitled to access the Indian Ocean” through Kenya and cautioning that “future wars” could arise if the issue isn’t resolved.
MR Museveni emphasised that for years, Uganda has been “locked out of what rightfully belongs to us”, insisting that Kenya should grant Uganda direct access to the coast.
His comments follow similar statements from his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who backed the claim and warned of “big problems” if Kenya refuses
"In Uganda, even if you want to build a navy, how can you build it? We don't have access to the sea. The political organization in Africa is so irrational. Some of the countries have no access to the sea, not only for economic purposes but also for defence purposes. You are stuck. How do I export my products? Museveni is quoted as having said about Uganda’s access to the Indian Ocean.
“That is why we have had endless discussions with Kenya. This one stops, another comes. The railway and the pipeline – we discuss. But that ocean belongs to me. Because it is my ocean. I am entitled to that ocean. In the future we're going to have wars.”
But Mudavadi, who during the Ministry’s Third Quarterly Media engagement, was joined by joined by Dr Sing’Oei and PS Roseline Kathure Njogu, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, together with other senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs assured cordial relations with our neighbours.
Mudavadi decried the many cases of Kenyans in distress abroad and blamed a section of scrupulous recruitment agencies for luring Kenyans into human trafficking disguised as job opportunities.
“Though significant progress has been made in Diaspora Diplomacy, we are also cognizant of weaknesses that put our citizens in harm’s way by virtue of unscrupulous foreign agents. The Government has had successful and safe repatriation of Kenyans from conflict-affected and high-risk regions,” said Mudavadi.
“Notably, approximately 400 Kenyans have been lured by unscrupulous agents with promises of lucrative job opportunities in the Far-East, including in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar, only to end up working in conditions akin to modern slavery.”
The human trafficking situation in Southeast Asia, particularly for Kenyans, has become a significant and alarming concern, largely driven by the rise of forced criminality in online scam compounds.
It is a sophisticated menace where our citizens, often lured by fraudulent job advertisements and agents purportedly in places like Thailand, are trafficked to South East Asia for exploitation, including forced labor, online scamming, illegal cryptocurrency trade, and even the horrific prospect of human organ harvesting.
“Since July 2022, the Kenya Embassy in Bangkok has rescued and facilitated the repatriation of approximately 500 Kenyan victims. As of now, 126 Kenyans are currently awaiting repatriation, 69 in Thailand and 57 in Myanmar, with additional groups being held by militia,” Mudavadi said.
A media story highlights the case of a Kenyan arrested at a Thai airport for using a fake immigration stamp.
“Having been previously repatriated from a scam compound in March 2025, he illegally re-entered Thailand to work for a Chinese-owned scam company in Myanmar. After a crackdown, he was arrested while attempting to fly home. This is a case to show that some of the victims are not innocent but part of the criminal network,” said Mudavadi.
He also disclosed that over 430,000 Kenyans are in employment abroad since 2023.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
