Activist Mwabili Mwagodi Arrested at Kenya–Tanzania Border Over Alleged Red Notice

Activist Mwabili Mwagodi was on Sunday arrested and detained at the Kenya–Tanzania border after immigration officials blocked him from leaving the country over what they described as a Red Notice linked to his passport.

Mwagodi was stopped on February 15 at the Lunga Lunga border while travelling to Dar es Salaam. In a statement posted on his X account, he said officers from the Immigration Department informed him that a Red Notice had been issued against his passport in early 2025 by an officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

He claimed the alert was initiated by a DCI officer based at Mazingira House along Kiambu Road under the Serious Crimes Unit but that no offence had been specified.

“On my way to Dar es Salaam on February 15, 2026, I was denied exit out of Kenya at the Lunga Lunga border by the Immigration Department due to a Red Notice issued against my passport around January or February 2025,” he wrote.

He said he was later handed over to officers at the Lunga Lunga Border Police Post and detained as they awaited instructions from DCI headquarters.

By Monday morning, he remained in custody at Lunga Lunga Police Station, with officers reportedly saying they were yet to receive guidance on the nature of the alleged offence or the next course of action.

Under international policing procedures, Red Notices are circulated through INTERPOL to alert member states that an individual is wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence. Such notices are ordinarily based on a valid arrest warrant issued by a judicial authority and are tied to specific offences.

Mwagodi maintained that he has not been informed of any charge against him.

His detention has drawn criticism from civil society organisations, including Vocal Africa, which questioned the legality of holding him without formally disclosing the reasons for his arrest.

The development also revives scrutiny over a 2025 incident in which Mwagodi disappeared while in Tanzania, where he was working for a hospitality company.

He was reported missing on July 23 and resurfaced four days later in Kinondo, Kwale County, under circumstances that were never fully explained publicly.

By Monday, police and immigration authorities had not issued an official statement on the matter. Rights groups have called on authorities to either charge Mwagodi in court or release him, warning that prolonged detention without clear grounds would violate constitutional safeguards.