Nairobi, Kenya | September 25, 2026

Activist Boniface Mulinge Muteti has been found alive in the Lukenya area after being missing for four days following a protest in Nairobi calling for the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.

Human rights activist and Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid said Muteti was found at around 3am on Friday after reportedly being left in the Lukenya area. Khalid said Muteti walked for a long distance before reaching a petrol station, where a Good Samaritan helped him access a phone and contact his brother.

Khalid described Muteti as weak, disoriented and injured. Reports said he was taken to a hospital in the Mlolongo area for treatment, although accounts differed on the specific facility.

The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and how he ended up in Lukenya have not been independently established.

Muteti went missing on September 21 after reportedly leaving fellow activists in Nairobi's Central Business District to print a petition they intended to present to police and other government offices. His colleagues said he later communicated that he had been arrested before his phone became unreachable.

His disappearance prompted his family and human rights defenders to search several police stations and seek legal intervention. On Thursday, a petition was filed at the Milimani Law Courts seeking orders compelling Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin to account for Muteti's whereabouts.

The application sought disclosure of records relating to Muteti's alleged arrest, custody, transfer, release or processing. It also cited a September 22 charge sheet concerning other activists arrested during demonstrations, noting that Muteti was not listed among those named.

Police have not publicly confirmed that Muteti was in their custody, leaving unresolved questions about where he spent the four days he was missing and who was responsible for his eventual discovery in Lukenya.

Following his discovery, reports also emerged of Muteti giving an account of what he says happened during his disappearance, including allegations that people followed him from his home and questioned him about his activism. Later reports carried further allegations about the treatment he says he endured. These accounts remain allegations and have not been independently established.

The case has attracted renewed attention from human rights defenders, who have called for answers over Muteti's disappearance and the circumstances surrounding his return.

For now, Muteti is receiving medical attention while questions remain over where he was held, who took him to the Lukenya area and what occurred between September 21 and his discovery four days later.