Kenya's safe haven image fades amid Besigye's plight in illegal detention

Uganda's veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye (C) reacts as supporters and media watch him being escorted by military police out of the Makindye Martial Court in Kampala, on November 20, 2024. [AFP]

Kenya will find itself in a difficult position, should, God forbid, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye—whose doctors report life-threatening health issues—die in detention.

Human rights groups argue that the country’s top leadership and law enforcement officers had the moral, legal and diplomatic responsibility to protect his life when he was violently abducted last November at 108 Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, but failed to do so. 

The Law Society of Kenya has called for immediate international intervention following his abduction, stressing the importance of highlighting this serious human rights violation.