Ugandan court categorizes activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo as 'missing persons'

Oyoo and Njagi are said to have been abducted on October 1 in Uganda by four armed men believed to be security officials.

Judge Simon Peter Kinobe, in a ruling on October 22, stated that the accusations presented against the government of Uganda lack merit, as arguments presented before the court have failed to incriminate the accused parties.

Part of the accused is the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security (CDIS), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of Uganda.

The activists' lawyer told the court that they have been held incommunicado at a military facility in Mbuya for over 48 hours without trial or formal charges, in violation of their constitutional rights.

They questioned the legality of their alleged arrest, terming it a violation of their rights.

The respondents rebutted the claims, saying that the arguments were misconceived and that the applicants are not in custody of any of the accused persons.

They argued that thorough inquiries and verifications were conducted across all detention facilities under the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UDPF), the Directorate of Military Intelligence, and the Uganda Police Force (UPF), confirming that none of them were in detention.

"The application is frivolous, vexatious, and brought in bad faith, intended to damage the reputation of the respondents," they argued.

Judge Kinobe therefore stated that the respondents' arguments are verifiable and the State cannot be forced to produce persons whose whereabouts remain unknown.

"I also note from the pleadings that there is no cogent evidence that the respondents actually have the applicants. An attempt at interacting with the deponents of the affidavits in support was futile," he said.

"I find that one cannot squeeze blood from a stone. The State can only produce what it has, and it would therefore be unrealistic to expect the desired outcome from circumstances that could not, in any case, yield it."

He also advised the counsel for the applicants to commence these investigations by filing a missing persons report with the UPF.

The two, who had joined National Unity Platform presidential candidate Bobi Wine’s campaign trail, were reportedly forced into a vehicle and their phones switched off.

Activists and Human Rights groups in Kenya have called for speedy investigations to release the duo.