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Journalist appeals to government to help find missing brother Mwabili Mwagodi in Tanzania
Kenyan journalist Isabella Kituri, the sister of missing activist Mwabili Mwagodi, has appealed to the Kenyan government for help in tracing her brother, who has been missing since Wednesday in Tanzania.
She has asked the Kenyan embassy in Tanzania to assist in the search after reports emerged that he might have been taken away following his criticism of President William Ruto's government.
While addressing the media, Ms Kituri said the family has been deeply disturbed by their relative’s disappearance and that he should be released and allowed to reunite with them.
Ms Kituri said she has been unable to reach her brother by phone, and her attempts to seek help have not been successful, prompting her to appeal through the media and lobby groups.
“If there is anything else, he should just be produced through the legal justice system, and it should be transparent because it is enough. I’m asking the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, please, use the legal protocols to address this issue,” Ms Kituri told journalists.
Mr Mwagodi, who has been missing reportedly since Wednesday, has been at the forefront of criticizing the government over its donations to churches.
“We just want to make sure that those who are holding him out there know that we know, and that they will be held accountable. Justice has to be served,” she added.
She said her brother was simply exercising his right to express his opinion in defence of the integrity of the church.
At the time of his disappearance, Mr Mwagodi was working at a restaurant in Kigamboni, Dar-es-Salaam.
He was also among the leading voices in support of the Gen Z demonstrations, using his social media platforms to express disappointment with some of the government’s policies.
According to human rights activist Hussein Khalid, Mr Mwagodi could be the latest victim of abduction, raising grave concerns about the safety of Kenyan activists in Tanzania.
This comes amid ongoing calls for a full report on Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and his Ugandan counterpart Agather Atuhaire, who were abducted and sexually assaulted.
In May, People’s Liberation Party leader and former Kenyan justice minister Martha Karua, along with other activists and human rights defenders, was detained and deported from a Tanzanian airport for reasons yet to be established.
Their plans to appear in court in solidarity with Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu were blocked by President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government.
