South Sudanese Businessman Abducted In Kenya Transported To, Held In Juba Military Base
According to Amnesty International, a South Sudanese whistleblower who was purportedly seized in Kenya earlier this week is being held at a military base.
Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is claimed to be held at a camp in Juba, days after disappearing during an early morning raid.
The 51-year-old was living in Nairobi and had expressed worries about corruption to the South Sudanese administration, which made several prominent officials uneasy.
“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 said on X.
Athorbey was kidnapped by armed, masked men around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, June 11, and bundled into a white vehicle after leaving a casino on the outskirts of Nairobi, according to a police report filed by his wife, which included witness testimony.
We have received credible information that Athorbey Al-Gaddhaffy-Dit (Gaddafi Athorbey), abducted in Nairobi on 10 June 2026, was unlawfully deported to South Sudan and is currently being held at a military detention facility in Juba.
We demand:
• Guarantees of his safety,… https://t.co/4c9ZGk5gnm pic.twitter.com/EZbgjRM6R2— Amnesty Kenya (@AmnestyKenya) June 12, 2026
According to reports, he repeatedly warned that his life was in danger because he was revealing corruption linked to South Sudan’s ruling elite, a representative told AFP.
A United Nations report last year detailed how government officials had stolen billions of dollars in oil money while leaving the population with hardly any essential services.
Gaddhaffy-Dit’s disappearance is the latest in a series of recent incidents in Kenya where foreign nationals have been reported abducted or deported to countries where they say they face political persecution.
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“Nairobi used to be safe for those seeking refuge from authoritarian regimes. It seems that’s over. Too bad!” Tibor Nagy wrote on X in response to reports of Gaddaffy-Dit’s abduction.
Nagy served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa during Donald Trump’s first term as president.
According to reports of other cases like that of November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was kidnapped in Kenya and taken to a military court in Uganda, where he is facing treason charges.
Turkish and Tanzanian dissidents have also been kidnapped on Kenyan soil.
Amnesty previously warned that Kenya, long considered a refuge for dissidents in a repressive East African region, was increasingly complicit in allowing neighbouring countries to abduct their citizens.
In previous cases, Kenyan authorities have either denied knowledge of reported abductions or said they were cooperating with legitimate requests from foreign governments.
South Sudanese Businessman Abducted In Kenya Transported To, Held In Juba Military Base
