New York, October 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ugandan authorities to locate and ensure the safety of journalist Eria Jengo, who has been missing since he was forced into an unmarked vehicle in the capital Kampala on September 10.
“CPJ is increasingly worried about Ugandan journalist Eria Jengo who has not been heard from since he left his office at lunchtime on September 10. His family and colleagues urgently need answers,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. “Ugandan authorities should establish his whereabouts, credibly confirm his safety, and ensure that those responsible for his disappearance are held to account.”
Jengo left
Baba TV
, where he works as a crime reporter, at around midday to buy lunch and was returning to the office in Kampala’s Ntinda suburb when he was intercepted by several people in an unmarked car who forced him into their vehicle, Baba TV’s head of news Joel Kafuko told CPJ. Jengo left his personal belongings, including his cell phone and laptop, at the office, Kafuko said.
Baba TV’s program director Phocus Luyobya, told
NTV Uganda
that Jengo was picked up by two cars, one of which was a Toyota Noah. Ugandans have nicknamed the vehicles
“drones”
because of the speed with which they drive off with those they have picked up.
Uganda’s police and military have long been accused of conducting enforced disappearances.
Human Rights Watch
has alleged that the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force has been involved in the illegal detention of more than 100 people, with some dying as a result of torture. Others remain
unaccounted
for.
The Uganda Journalists Association
filed
a complaint with the Human Rights Commission over what it described as Jengo’s enforced disappearance by “suspected security operatives.”
Jengo has worked for Baba TV for more than four years, largely covering security news, with recent reporting including Uganda’s
military cooperation
with Rwanda and the defense minist
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