The High Court has ordered the Inspector General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Ruai to produce missing Tanzanian activist Twaha Mwaipaya in court, dead or alive, on Monday, November 2.
Justice Alexander Muteti issued the orders on Friday, October 30, after hearing an urgent application filed by human rights organisation VOCAL Africa over the activist’s disappearance.
The three security officials have been directed to present Mwaipaya before the Milimani High Court at 11am and explain his whereabouts.
The judge also ordered them to produce the original warrant of detention, if one exists, and explain why the activist should not be released from custody.
“That the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents are hereby ordered either by themselves or through their duly appointed officers to produce the person or body of Twaha Mwaipaya live or dead, before this court,” Justice Muteti directed.
VOCAL Africa Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid welcomed the court’s decision, saying the orders followed a habeas corpus petition filed by the organisation alongside other human rights groups to establish where Mwaipaya was being held.
The activist was reportedly taken away by armed men on Sunday, October 25, while travelling in a taxi to visit friends in Kamulu, on the outskirts of Nairobi.
According to Amnesty International, the incident happened at around 2pm when individuals travelling in three vehicles intercepted the taxi carrying Mwaipaya and another Tanzanian opposition member identified as Margwe.
One of the vehicles, a Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop, reportedly forced the taxi off the road before three masked men armed with guns emerged.
Margwe managed to escape during the confrontation, but Mwaipaya was taken away by the men. His whereabouts have remained unknown since the incident.
Mwaipaya is a human rights activist and commentator in Tanzania and the coordinator for mobilization in the youth wing of the country’s biggest opposition party, the CHADEMA.
Mwaipaya has been known to criticize the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan on issues relating to human rights violations, police brutality, and constitutional amendments.
The disappearance of Mwaipaya has thrown into limelight cases where foreign activists and opposition leaders have disappeared or been kidnapped in Kenya.
In January 2025, Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi was reportedly abducted in Nairobi but released hours later.
Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye was also abducted in November 2024 and transferred to Uganda, where he has remained in detention.
Kenya has also faced criticism over the alleged abduction and forced return of four Turkish refugees in 2024 and a South Sudanese government critic in 2026.
Amnesty International has previously raised concerns about possible cooperation between regional governments in targeting people fleeing political persecution.
The High Court’s orders now require the police leadership and the Ruai police station commander to account for Mwaipaya’s disappearance when they appear before the court on Monday.
