While many celebrated the release and safe return of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, a section of the public, including a notable Member of Parliament, has chosen a different path. Rather than condemn their abduction and 38-day disappearance, they have defended it. Some have even gone as far as to say, “They got what they deserved.” This article is for them. Let’s be clear: no one, regardless of nationality, opinion, or political leaning, deserves to be abducted, held incommunicado, or denied due process.
What happened to Bob and Nicholas was not law enforcement; it was a human rights violation. The two were abducted and held for 38 days without access to family, lawyers, or the courts. That is not an arrest. It is an enforced disappearance, a grave violation under international and regional human rights law. Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Uganda is a signatory, states that:
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention.
Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Similarly, Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights affirms that:
Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of their freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law.
Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Even under Ugandan domestic law, the police are required to present a suspect before a court no later than 48 hours from the time of their arrest, stipulated under Article 23(4)(b) of the Ugandan Constitution. Bob and Nicholas were detained for over five weeks, far beyond what the law permits.
Those who claim that “Uganda had a right to detain them” forget a basic principle: the rule of law is not selective. Governments cannot claim legitimacy while breaking the very laws they are meant to uphold. If Bob and Nicholas had indeed committed an offence, the lawful process was simple: arrest them, charge them, and present them in court within 48 hours. Instead, they were held incommunicado, denied legal counsel, and disappeared from public record. That is not justice; it is abuse of power.
Every time we excuse a government for abducting its citizens or citizens of other countries, we move closer to a society where no one is safe. Today, it is activists; tomorrow, it could be journalists, students, or anyone who speaks truth to power. The ease with which some public figures dismiss the abduction of Bob and Nicholas should alarm us. It signals a growing acceptance of impunity, a willingness to trade human rights for political convenience. But as history has shown, when states are allowed to operate outside the law, everyone eventually pays the price.
If we believe in the rule of law, then we must defend it consistently. If we believe in justice, then it must apply even to those we disagree with. And if we believe in human rights, then we must reject every attempt to justify their violation. The right to liberty, the right to due process, and the right not to be subjected to arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance are non-negotiable. They are not privileges granted by the state; they are protections against state abuse. To those defending the abduction and detention of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo: this is not about agreeing with their cause or methods. It is about defending the principles that keep us all free.
Bob and Nicholas are home, but the questions their ordeal raises remain. Will we, as a society, continue to justify injustice when it happens to others? Or will we stand firm on the side of law, dignity, and humanity, even when it is inconvenient? The answer will define who we are as a people.