Story perspectives

Kenya Police Admit Abduction, UN Flags Unlawful Deportation to Juba

6/13/2026

Summary

Athorbey Abducted

Kenya police say Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit was abducted from Nairobi on 11 June, taken to Juba, where Amnesty International calls the deportation unlawful and a threat to his life and rights.
His wife said she does not know his location in Juba and fears for health.
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights reported renditions and threats by South Sudanese forces in Kenya and Uganda, while Kenyan authorities deny knowledge of the abduction.

Summary

Athorbey Kidnapped

Athorbey was kidnapped near Yaya Centre at 3:00 a.m. on June 10, 2026, placed in a pickup, and taken through the Nadapal crossing to Giada Barracks in Juba.
A whistleblower exposed illicit flows involving CapitalPay while a United Nations (UN) report detailed misappropriation of billions in oil revenue by South Sudan’s elite.
Transparency International ranks South Sudan 177th of 180 while about 80 percent of the population remains impoverished and reliant on aid.

Summary

Mwangi Flags Detention

Boniface Mwangi (activist and presidential candidate) posted on X that Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit is detained at JKIA pending deportation.
The whistleblower, a dual Kenyan-South Sudanese citizen, warned his wife that exposing corruption endangered his life.
Mwangi said the detention follows the 2024 kidnapping of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the return of four Turkish refugees.
Amnesty International warned the case reflects an expanding trend of cross-border abductions targeting critics of neighboring regimes.
Kenyan authorities have not publicly confirmed Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit’s location, raising concerns ahead of the national elections.

History

Historical Context

After Egypt violently dispersed a Sudanese refugee sit-in in December 2005, detaining over 2,000 protesters and deporting hundreds, the country has repeatedly used forced returns, a pattern echoed by the 2023 Sudan war that pushed more than 1.2 million Sudanese into Egypt. These precedents underscore current cross-border abductions of critics like Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit.

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Athorbey Abducted

Kenya police say Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit was abducted from Nairobi on 11 June, taken to Juba, where Amnesty International calls the deportation unlawful and a threat to his life and rights.
His wife said she does not know his location in Juba and fears for health.
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights reported renditions and threats by South Sudanese forces in Kenya and Uganda, while Kenyan authorities deny knowledge of the abduction.

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