Kenyan activist Mwabili Mwagodi reportedly abducted in Tanzania

Just weeks after the abduction and torture of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi in Tanzania, another Kenyan national—activist Mwabili Mwagodi—has reportedly gone missing in Dar es Salaam.

According to Hussein Khalid (@husskhalid), CEO of the human rights organization Vocal Africa, Mwagodi was abducted on the night of Wednesday, July 24, 2025, in Kigamboni, a suburb of Tanzania’s commercial capital. The activist, known online as @mwabilimwagodi, has been an outspoken critic of political interference in religious spaces and a key mobilizer of Kenya’s Gen Z movement.

“A Kenyan has been abducted in Tanzania. Again,” Khalid said in a public statement. “Family has confirmed that Mwabili Mwagodi, who is a Kenyan activist and was vocal against church donations, was abducted on Wednesday.”

Mwagodi’s sister, Isabella Kituri, informed Khalid of the disappearance. She confirmed that her brother, who works at Amani Beach Hotel in Kigamboni, had not been heard from since Wednesday evening.

“Hello Hussein, my brother Mwabili Mwagodi (@mwabilimwagodi) is missing since last night in Dar es Salaam. We are unable to reach him,” Isabella said.

She added that Mwagodi’s employer attempted to file a missing persons report but was told by Tanzanian authorities that they would have to wait 24 hours before taking official action.

The family fears his disappearance is politically motivated. “We are worried because he was in the frontline of blocking Ruto’s church fundraising missions and has been quite vocal, mobilizing Gen Z on social media platforms,” Isabella added.

Mwagodi was a prominent voice during the June 2024 Gen Z protests in Kenya. He spearheaded a campaign urging young people to contact pastors and bishops directly, appealing to them to stop inviting politicians—particularly President William Ruto—to their church events.

His disappearance comes amid growing concern about the safety of Kenyan and regional activists operating in Tanzania. Just two months earlier, Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer Agatha Atuhaire were arrested in Dar es Salaam on May 19, 2025, while attending the trial of Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu. Tanzanian authorities later claimed Mwangi entered the country using false information and detained him at Central Police Station.

Khalid has openly condemned what he describes as a systematic targeting of Kenyan activists by Tanzanian authorities under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

“It seems President Suluhu and her government are working around the clock to target Kenyan activists,” he said.

As of publication, Tanzanian officials have not commented publicly on Mwagodi’s reported abduction.