After days of unexplained disappearance that sparked urgent appeals from his family and human rights organizations, prominent Kenyan activist Mwambili Mwagodi has finally been located. His reappearance, though celebrated, comes shrouded in a narrative that underscores the fraught realities faced by activists operating across East African borders.
According to Hussein Khalid, CEO of Vocal Africa, Mwagodi is currently safe under the care of officers from Vocal Africa and the esteemed lobby group Muhuri Kenya. His first stop was understandably a hospital in Mombasa. "Mwabili has been released and is presently with our @VOCALAfrica_ and @MUHURIkenya officers in Mombasa," Khalid announced. "Presently, Mwabili has been rushed to Pandya Hospital, Mombasa, for a quick medical checkup, after which he will be put on a flight to Nairobi to reunite with his family."
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The details of Mwagodi's reappearance are as dramatic as his alleged abduction. Khalid explained that Mwagodi was reportedly dropped in a bush in Kinondo, Kwale County, around 3 AM. From there, he endured a grueling 3-kilometer walk to Diani, where he managed to contact his family. It was his family who swiftly alerted Vocal Africa, prompting their officers to dispatch a team to pick him up. Disturbingly, upon voluntarily presenting himself at a police station in Diani, Mwagodi was allegedly met with an attempt by the police to detain him, a move swiftly countered by the intervening Vocal Africa officers who secured his release.
Mwambili Mwagodi, a Kenyan activist primarily working in Tanzania, had been at the center of a frantic search for days. His sister, Isabella Kituri, had initially raised the alarm, confirming that her brother went missing in the neighboring country. Efforts by Mwagodi’s employer to file a missing person's report with Tanzanian police were reportedly met with resistance, being told to wait for 24 hours – a delay that intensified family anxieties.
Kituri had earlier confirmed on Saturday that Mwabili Mwagodi, known for his outspoken criticism against church-linked political fundraising, was allegedly abducted in Tanzania on Wednesday, July 23, around 10 PM in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam. Witnesses near the Amani Beach Hotel, where Mwagodi works, recounted seeing him walking with his driver when a vehicle abruptly intercepted them. Armed men are said to have forcefully bundled him into the vehicle before speeding off, leaving his car behind. His phone went off shortly after, leading to a complete lack of contact until his recent reappearance. Further complicating the investigation, family members reported that CCTV footage from the area of the alleged abduction was reportedly confiscated by Tanzanian authorities, frustrating efforts to trace him.
Prior to his reappearance, Mwagodi's family had made impassioned pleas to both Kenyan and Tanzanian authorities, urging them to urgently account for his whereabouts. His activism, particularly his vocal stance against the opaque nature of church donations and their intersection with political funding, has often placed him in the public eye and, potentially, in precarious situations.
