Kenyan Politician Shadrack Maritim Found Alive in Uganda After Two-Month Disappearance
Kenyan politician and former Tinderet parliamentary aspirant Shadrack Maritim, who vanished in October under mysterious circumstances, has been found alive in neighbouring Uganda, authorities and family representatives confirmed on Wednesday.
Maritim was reported missing after leaving his home for an early morning jog. His family later raised concerns that his disappearance may have been linked to tensions with a senior official at the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), alleging that he had received threatening messages shortly before he went missing.
The politician was traced to Mbale, eastern Uganda, on Wednesday, December 3. The following day, the High Court in Nairobi—which had been hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by his family—was informed that Maritim had contacted his relatives, claiming he had been abandoned by his abductors near the Ugandan town.
Speaking outside the court, the family’s lawyer Kibe Mungai revealed that Maritim’s brief phone call suggested he remained deeply shaken.
“He sounded frightened when he spoke to his brother,” Mungai said. “The priority right now is his safety and establishing the full circumstances of his disappearance.”
Images circulating on social media on Wednesday showed Maritim in the company of his brother inside a Ugandan police Land Cruiser, raising questions about the role of Ugandan authorities and the manner in which he was recovered. Neither the Kenyan nor Ugandan government has issued an official statement addressing the developments.
Maritim, who is expected to contest the Tinderet parliamentary seat in the 2027 general election, has not spoken publicly and has yet to address the media regarding the incident.
His case comes in the wake of another high-profile episode involving Kenyan human rights activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were allegedly abducted in Kampala on October 1 and held for nearly 40 days before being released. Their ordeal triggered diplomatic concerns and renewed scrutiny over cross-border security operations in the region.
The ongoing fears surrounding enforced disappearances prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to issue a stern warning to President Yoweri Museveni’s government. In a statement on Wednesday, Türk expressed alarm at what he described as a “worsening crackdown” on political opposition and civil society groups ahead of Uganda’s general elections.
“I am deeply concerned by reports of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and intimidation of activists and opposition supporters,” he said. Türk specifically cited the Njagi and Oyoo case as evidence of “a pattern that raises serious human rights questions.”
As investigations continue, pressure is mounting on both Nairobi and Kampala to clarify the circumstances under which Maritim crossed into Uganda, how he was located, and whether his disappearance was politically motivated.
Kenyan Politician Shadrack Maritim Found Alive in Uganda After Two-Month Disappearance