On Thursday, the Pan-African Solidarity Network, a coalition of non-governmental organizations defending human rights, demonstrated in the center of Nairobi to demand the release of Kizza Besigye and Tundu Lissu, opposition leaders prosecuted for treason in Uganda and Tanzania, respectively.
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About thirty activists marched through the center of the Kenyan capital and stopped in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There they delivered formal petitions demanding the intervention of the Kenyan government.
The platform directly accuses ministers Kipchumba Murkomen, Musalia Mudavadi, Soipan Tuya and the director of the National Intelligence Service, Noordin Haji, of allowing and coordinating the detention and illegal transfer of Besigye from Kenyan territory to Uganda.
During the day, defenders raised banners with the slogan: “Kidnapped in Kenya. Persecuted and dying in Uganda. Save Kizza Besigye.” In addition, they displayed posters with the faces of Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni, along with Muhoozi Kainerugaba, identifying them under the name “The illegal rendition alliance.”
A protest by Kenyan human rights activists in Nairobi, with a group marching from the CBD to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand the release of detained political figures in East Africa, including Dr Kizza Besigye of Uganda and Tundu Lissu in Tanzania. pic.twitter.com/tQpGbpoKyM
— John Mutongoi (@johnmtongoi) September 3, 2026
Activists read a statement setting a seven-day deadline to meet their demands before intensifying the campaign. “We will march towards Uganda and organize national demonstrations together with our comrades in Uganda to demand the immediate release of comrade Kizza Besigye,” warned Mulinge
Muteti, spokesperson for the network. Mwanase Ahmed added: “Just as Kenya cooperated to bring Besigye to the brink of death, we hope that it will apply the same diplomatic cooperation to save his life. Otherwise, there will be more blood on the hands of the Kenyan Government.”
The coalition also called for the immediate withdrawal of all charges against Lissu by the Tanzanian authorities. Activist Benard Muya emphasized the need for the international community to take notice of the arrests: “If the Kenyan government receives pressure from the European Union or the United States, that pressure will ensure that both Besigye and Tundu Lissu are released.” Fredrick Otieno, from Vocal Africa, warned that “Kenya is going down the same path” as its neighbors to “take away their freedom and prevent democracy from developing.”
Regarding the legal context, Kizza Besigye, a former colonel, former presidential candidate and in poor health, is awaiting trial for treason in prison. This crime is punishable by death for an alleged plot to overthrow the government, after disappearing in Nairobi in November 2024 and reappearing before a military court.
Tundu Lissu was arrested in April 2025 after a rally, accused of treason and trying to prevent the October 2025 elections. Lissu faces the death penalty after having returned to the country in 2023, after surviving an assassination attempt.
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