The revelations made by Kenyan activist Bob Njagi have sent shockwaves across the region, exposing what could be one of the most alarming examples of cross-border collaboration to suppress democratic movements.
Appearing on Citizen TV’s JKLive show alongside fellow activist Nicholas Oyoo, Njagi detailed the harrowing ordeal they faced while detained in Uganda for 38 days.
Their testimony painted a disturbing picture of how regional governments may be working together to silence dissenting voices.
Njagi claimed that some Ugandan soldiers confessed to being deployed in Kenya during the 2024 Gen Z-led protests, disguised as Kenyan police officers.
According to him, these soldiers admitted to crossing into Kenya to help suppress the demonstrations that had spread across the country.
“One shocking revelation is that when we got there in the first week, there were some soldiers who revealed to me that they participated in the Gen Z protests in Kenya,” he stated.
“They were actually moved from Uganda as military dressed in Kenya police uniform to come and quell the riots in Kenya. This is a collaboration between states. That’s why what’s happening in Kenya is resonating in Uganda and Tanzania.
“The two activists recounted being taken to what they described as a “safe house” operated by Uganda’s military. They were later transferred to a military camp outside Kampala, believed to be a training base for the elite Special Forces Command tasked with protecting Uganda’s First Family.
The facility, Njagi said, appeared to serve as an unofficial detention site for political prisoners and activists targeted by security agencies.
Oyoo vividly described the brutal interrogations they went through. He revealed that they were beaten repeatedly as officers demanded information about their alleged connections to Kenyan protest movements.
“On the second day, they interrogated us while having our phones. They ask you specific questions about the groups you’re in. When they think that you’ve not said what they should hear, they start caning and punching you,” he recalled.
“I was caned twice. During the first interrogation, they called me out, took me somewhere and began asking me about my WhatsApp. They’re trying to push you towards some narratives of some sorts. When they think I’ve not said the right things, or it seems like I’m hiding something, they cuff me to a chair and take sticks to cane us.”Njagi further alleged that Ugandan security agencies were misled into believing that they had crossed the border to mobilize youth against President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
“I think they had been given wrong intelligence, thinking that we were on a mission to mobilise the youth, which they were totally misinformed. They had 38 days of doing investigations but have not taken us to court or charged us with any crimes to date,” he said.
The activist ended his account with a strong appeal to Ugandan authorities to release all political prisoners. He mentioned that among those still detained is prominent opposition figure Kizza Besigye and Amos Rwangomani, the brother of Uganda’s Internal Affairs Minister, whom he shared a cell with during detention.
Their revelations have raised serious questions about the extent of regional intelligence cooperation and the erosion of democratic space in East Africa. Many Kenyans have called for a thorough investigation into the claims, warning that such cross-border repression could signal a new and dangerous trend in the region’s political landscape.
