Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya was reported missing in Kenya on Sunday, according to a police report seen by Reuters. The case was reported on Monday, 26 October 2026, and has drawn attention because it follows other reported cases in which government critics from the region have been detained or taken while in Kenya. At the time of reporting, it was not clear who took Mwaipaya, whether he remained in Kenya, or whether he had been harmed.

According to Amnesty International researcher Sikula Oniala, quoted by Reuters, Mwaipaya was travelling by taxi to visit friends in Kamulu, about 35 kilometres east of Nairobi, when three unidentified men intercepted the vehicle at about 2 p.m. local time on Sunday. The men ordered the taxi driver to get out of the vehicle before driving away with Mwaipaya inside, Oniala said. Reuters reported that it could not independently verify that account, and that spokespeople for Kenyan and Tanzanian police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A pattern that worries rights groups

John Heche, vice-chairman of Tanzania's main opposition CHADEMA party, urged the Kenyan authorities to help find Mwaipaya. CHADEMA's leader, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason in Tanzania, a context that has heightened concern among opposition supporters about the safety of activists outside the country. Heche was quoted as saying Nairobi should not remain a place where critics are taken, a comment that reflects wider unease about cross-border detentions in East Africa.

Reuters noted two earlier cases cited in this context. 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.