A Kenyan lawyer has been reported missing in Tanzania following his alleged arrest by police on October 31, 2025.
According to human rights activist Hussein Khalid, the missing man, identified as Fredrick Lorent Obuya, 29, was detained in Dar es Salaam while travelling to Zanzibar for business.
Obuya who also owns a tour company, was reportedly seen last at the Oyster Bay Police Station.
“As we continue monitoring the situation surrounding Tanzania’s post-election violence, VOCAL Africa has received the case of a Kenyan, Fredrick Lorent Obuya, who was arrested in Dar es Salaam on October 31,” Khalid stated.
“Fredrick, 29, is a lawyer and tour operator. According to his friends, he was on a work trip to Zanzibar when he was taken into custody. His last known location remains Oyster Bay Police Station.”
The incident unfolds amid reports of escalating post-election unrest in Tanzania following the October 29 general election, which has left hundreds dead, according to local sources. However, journalists and human rights groups have struggled to verify the exact casualty figures due to restricted access.
After being declared winner of the disputed election, President Samia Suluhu Hassan dismissed claims that Tanzanians were behind the protests, alleging that “foreign elements” had infiltrated the country and were responsible for the violence.
Reports also indicate that several Kenyans may have been caught up in the chaos.
So far, only one Kenyan fatality has been confirmed John Okoth Ogutu, a teacher who had lived and worked in Ubungo, Dar es Salaam, for eight years.
Ogutu was reportedly killed on October 29, the day of the election.
Speaking in a televised interview on November 4, Ogutu’s sister appealed to President William Ruto’s administration to help repatriate her brother’s remains.
A day later, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino wrote to Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, urging the ministry to push for a transparent investigation into Ogutu’s death and the fate of missing Kenyans such as Obuya.