Key facts
- South Sudanese whistleblower Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit was abducted in Kenya.
- He was reportedly taken by armed, masked individuals to Juba, South Sudan.
- Gaddhaffy-Dit had shared information about alleged high-level corruption in South Sudan.
- Kenyan authorities and South Sudanese officials stated they were unaware of the incident.
- Human rights groups expressed serious concerns for his safety and fundamental rights.
A South Sudanese whistleblower, Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit, who had made allegations of corruption in his home country, was reportedly abducted in Kenya and taken to South Sudan's capital, Juba. His wife stated that armed, masked individuals took him in a white vehicle around 3 a.m. on Tuesday after he left a casino on the outskirts of Nairobi. She filed a police report citing witness accounts and expressed deep worry about his current location and well-being.
Both South Sudan's government spokesperson and a top official at Kenya's foreign affairs ministry stated they were unaware of the incident. A Kenyan police spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. This incident is the latest in a series of abductions or deportations of foreign nationals in Kenya to countries where they claim to face political persecution.
Tibor Nagy, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, commented on X that Nairobi no longer appears safe for those seeking refuge from authoritarian regimes. Amnesty International issued a statement warning that deporting Gaddhaffy-Dit to South Sudan would pose a serious and urgent threat to his life, safety, and fundamental rights. Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan human rights activist, met with Gaddhaffy-Dit in April, who reportedly believed he was being targeted by the South Sudanese government for sharing information about alleged high-level corruption with journalists and diplomats.
A 2023 report by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan documented the "ongoing pervasiveness of extra-territorial operations" by South Sudanese security forces, particularly in Kenya and Uganda, including illegal renditions, death threats, and surveillance of dissidents. The South Sudanese government has consistently denied accusations of systematic human rights violations.