Kenyan politician and former aspirant for the Tinderet parliamentary seat, Shadrack Maritim, who went missing in October, has been found alive in Uganda.
Maritim, who went missing after leaving his house for a morning jog, was found in Mbale, Uganda, on Wednesday, December 3. Prior to his disappearance, he had reportedly received some information from a senior officer at the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).
This incident follows another shocking case in which two human rights activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were abducted and held in the East African country for over a month.
Initially, Maritim's family alleged that the senior NPSC officer had threatened him, warning that he would face consequences for opposing him.
At the same time, the family moved to the High Court and filed a petition for habeas corpus, demanding that the government produce their relative and explain the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
However, when the matter came up before the court on Wednesday, it was informed that the politician had contacted his family on Tuesday this week, claiming that his abductors had abandoned him near Mbale.
According to the family’s lawyer, Kibe Mungai, Maritim sounded frightened during the call with his brother.
Maritim is, however, yet to speak or address the media on the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Moreover, both the governments of Kenya and Uganda have yet to comment on the developments.
The politician is eyeing the Tinderent parliamentary seat in the 2027 general elections and seeks to unseat the current MP, Julius Melly, who is one of the longest-serving legislators from the region.
Even so, pictures shared on social media depicted Maritim allegedly with his brother while riding abroad a police land cruiser owned by Ugandan police while riding around the streets of the neigbouring nation.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has cautioned Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni against the arbitrary apprehension and detention of activists and opposition politicians.
In a statement on Wednesday, December 4, Volker weighed in on the intensifying crackdown on the opposition in Uganda ahead of next month’s general elections.
He accused the Ugandan government of allegedly contravening human rights and freedom through arbitrary detentions, as well as enforced disappearances and torture of opposition supporters and activists.
Volker specifically pointed out the enforced disappearance of Kenyan activists Njagi and Oyoo, who were allegedly apprehended in Kampala, Uganda, on October 1 and released after nearly 40 days.
