Amnesty International has revealed that a South Sudanese whistleblower who was allegedly abducted in Kenya has been forcibly returned to his country and is being held at a military detention facility in the capital, Juba.
Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit, who also holds Kenyan citizenship, had been living in Nairobi and had repeatedly expressed concerns for his safety because of his claims exposing alleged corruption involving South Sudan’s ruling elite.
According to his wife, Kenyan police said Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit was abducted at gunpoint on Tuesday morning by masked men travelling in a white vehicle as he left a casino in Nairobi.”We have received credible information that Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit was unlawfully deported to South Sudan and is currently being held at a military detention facility in Juba,” Amnesty International said in a post on X.
The rights group called for his immediate release and raised concerns over the legality of his transfer. The incident is the latest in a series of alleged cross-border abductions involving political activists and opposition figures in East Africa.
Amnesty has previously accused Kenya, historically viewed as a safe haven for dissidents in the region, of increasingly facilitating the return of critics sought by neighbouring governments.
In November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and taken to Uganda, where he faces treason charges before a military court.
Rights groups have also reported cases involving Turkish and Tanzanian dissidents allegedly seized on Kenyan territory and returned to their home countries. South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest nations, has long faced allegations of corruption and weak governance.
A United Nations report published last year accused senior officials of diverting billions of dollars in oil revenues while much of the population lacked access to basic public services.