Tanzanian opposition activist reported missing in Kenya

NAIROBI, Oct 26 - Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya was reported missing in Kenya on Sunday, according to a police report seen by Reuters, in the latest case involving the disappearance of a government critic in the East African country.

• Mwaipaya was travelling by taxi to visit friends in Kamulu, around 35 km (22 miles) east of Nairobi, when three unidentified men intercepted him at about 2 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Sunday, Amnesty International researcher Sikula Oniala told Reuters

• The men ordered the taxi driver to get out of the vehicle before they drove away with Mwaipaya inside, Oniala said

• Reuters could not independently verify Amnesty's account. It was not immediately clear who took Mwaipaya, whether he remained in Kenya or whether he had been harmed

• Kenyan and Tanzanian police spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment

• The case follows reported cross-border abductions of government critics in Kenya

• Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi in November 2024, later appeared before a military court in Uganda, and has since been charged with treason

• Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was briefly detained in Nairobi in January 2025

• John Heche, vice-chairman of Tanzania's main opposition CHADEMA party, whose leader Tundu Lissu is on trial for treason, urged the Kenyan authorities to help find Mwaipaya

• "Nairobi cannot remain an abduction hub for dictators," Heche said REUTERS