Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya disappears after Nairobi taxi hijacking
Tanzanian opposition figure Twaha Mwaipaya was taken from a taxi near Nairobi on Sunday, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
A police report indicates that Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya vanished after three unidentified men intercepted his taxi near Nairobi at around 2 p.m. on Sunday. The men ordered the driver to leave the vehicle before driving away with Mwaipaya, who was on his way to see friends in Kamulu, roughly 35 km east of the capital. Amnesty International researcher Sikula Oniala provided these details, while Kenyan and Tanzanian police have not responded to inquiries.
The incident follows other reported kidnappings of dissenters across the Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania corridor, including the 2024 abduction of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the 2025 detention of Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai. CHADEMA vice-chairman John Heche urged Kenyan authorities to locate Mwaipaya, warning that Nairobi should not become a hub for such disappearances.
Why it matters
The disappearance highlights growing cross-border repression of political opponents in East Africa.
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