Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid has raised concerns over the mysterious disappearance of a Kenyan lawyer, Fredrick Lorent Obuya, who was reportedly arrested in Tanzania last week under unclear circumstances.
In a statement released on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, Khalid revealed that his organization had received a distressing report regarding the 29-year-old Kenyan national, who was apprehended in Dar es Salaam on October 31, 2025.
“As we continue to follow up on the Tanzania post-election violence, Vocal Africa has received the case of a Kenyan, Fredrick Lorent Obuya, who was arrested in Dar es Salaam on 31st October 2025. Fredrick is a lawyer and runs a tour company,” Khalid stated.
Also Read
According to friends of the missing lawyer, Obuya was traveling to Zanzibar on a work-related trip when he was taken into custody.
His last known location was Oyster Bay Police Station in Dar es Salaam, but his current whereabouts remain unknown.
The incident has intensified fears over the safety of Kenyans living or working in Tanzania, where post-election tensions have escalated in recent weeks.
It also follows a growing number of troubling reports involving Kenyan citizens caught up in the violence.
Just a day before Obuya’s case emerged, reports indicated that a Kenyan teacher, who had lived and worked in Tanzania for nearly eight years, was killed amid the ongoing unrest.
The teacher’s sister said the family last spoke to him in September before receiving confirmation of his death this week.
“My brother has been in Tanzania for almost eight years. I remember the last time I talked to him was on 22nd September when he was wishing me my birthday,” she said emotionally.
The family was later informed that his body was being held at Mwananyamala Hospital Mortuary in Dar es Salaam. The incident reportedly occurred in the Ubungo District, specifically in the Goba Ward area.
The disappearance of the lawyer and the teacher’s death come barely a week after another disturbing incident involving Kenyan journalist Shoka Juma of Nyota TV, who was arrested at the Lunga Lunga border while covering the protests in Tanzania.
On Friday, October 31, Khalid condemned Juma’s arrest, questioning why Tanzanian security officers were operating within Kenyan territory.
“What are Tanzanian police officers, the so-called Usalama wa Taifa, doing on the Kenyan side of the border arresting Kenyan journalists? Journalist Shoka Juma of Nyota TV has been arrested at the Kenyan side of the Lunga Lunga border and is currently being held by Tanzanian security officers,” Khalid said.
The growing number of such incidents has sparked alarm among human rights organizations and raised diplomatic concerns between Kenya and Tanzania.
Vocal Africa and other advocacy groups are now calling for urgent clarification from both governments on the fate of missing Kenyan citizens.
Khalid urged Tanzanian authorities to provide information on the whereabouts of Fredrick Obuya and ensure his immediate release if no formal charges have been made.
“We demand that the Tanzanian authorities provide information on the whereabouts of Fredrick and ensure his immediate release if he has not been charged in a court of law,” he said.
As Tanzania continues to grapple with post-election violence and political tension, the fate of missing Kenyans remains uncertain, raising fears over cross-border human rights violations and the safety of foreign nationals in the country.