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Missing activist Mwabili 'was tortured, injected with unknown substance'
Activist Mwabili Mwagodi at Pandya Hospital in Mombasa. He was reportedly dumped near Diani Sunday morning.
Human rights activist Mwabili Mwagodi, who was reported missing in Tanzania, is receiving treatment at a Mombasa hospital after being found dumped in Kwale County.
Rights activists who took him to the hospital said he was left helpless in Lunga Lunga by people believed to be plainclothes police officers, after which he traced his way to Kinondo in Diani. Lunga Lunga is located at the Kenya-Tanzania border and is about 60 kilometres from Kinondo.
According to the Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) rapid response officer, Francis Auma, he was found at around 3am and driven to Mombasa. He is expected to be flown later to his family in Nairobi.
Missing Kenyan activist Mwabili Mwagodi.
“This is now becoming a trend. We saw what happened to Boniface Mwangi, who was also abducted in Tanzania and dumped at the border,” Mr Auma said.
Mr Mwagodi’s uncle, Zacharia Mwabili, who was accompanied by other family members, said their kin was in pain and in dire need of medical assistance.
“It is by God’s miracle that we have found him. We were really worried about his life,” he said.
The family of Activist Mwabili Mwagodi at Pandya Hospital, where he was admitted.
The family said Mwagodi revealed that he had been questioned by detectives in Tanzania, who wanted to know his reason for visiting the country and whether he had any political associations there. The activist has been a critic of President William Ruto and part of the vocal group of activists leading protests against the government.
He also played a role during the 2024 anti-finance bill protests, mobilising residents from the coastal region to take to the streets.
“They took away his items including travel documents, phones, money and even identification documents,” said Mr Zacharia.
The human rights activists who picked him from Diani added that he revealed he had been tortured and locked up in a dark, isolated room. They condemned the Kenyan authorities, whom they accused of intimidating him while in hospital.
Also Read: Journalist appeals to government to help find missing brother Mwabili Mwagodi in Tanzania
His family urged the police, who were at the hospital, to give him time to recover before questioning him.
“They tortured him because you can clearly see he is mentally unstable. He claims that they beat him and injected him with something we don’t know. That's why he needs to be treated as soon as possible,” said human rights activist Walid Said.
His abduction sparked an online debate, with the hashtag #FreeMwabiliMwagodi trending on X. Members of civil groups are now demanding answers, calling on the Kenyan government to take action against those who abducted him last Wednesday and ensure justice is served.
