Missing activists: Rights groups call for sanctions against Uganda

Roseline Ochieng (centre), mother of activist Nicholas Oyoo, with her daughter Beatrice Ochieng (right) and Free Kenya Movement Women League leader Florence Kanyua (left) after a church service at Jesus Christ Macher Church, Ruiru, on October 12, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

In the face of growing frustration over the fate of missing Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, a coalition of civil society groups and human rights defenders has petitioned the European Union (EU) to suspend funding to the Ugandan government and impose sanctions.

The petition addressed to the EU delegation in both Kenya and Uganda and the European External Action Service in Brussels, urges the bloc to take immediate action against Uganda for what it terms as “continued violation of human rights and international law.”