Kabando declares Mwabili Mwagodi national hero amid his disappearance in Tanzania
By Nancy Marende, July 26, 2025Former Mukurweini Member of Parliament (MP) Kabando wa Kabando has declared activist Mwabili Mwagodi a national hero following his reported disappearance while travelling to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
In a statement on Saturday, July 26, 2025, Kabando praised Mwagodi’s courage and conviction during Kenya’s ongoing Gen Z-led movement, describing him as a fearless voice who challenged the status quo, both physically and digitally.
“At the pinnacle of Gen Z’s uprising, we admired and cheered as he traversed geographical terrain, the missive, and the digital terrain to remind our church leadership that a pulpit belonged to God, not the megalomaniac political moneybags. Mwabili, a national hero,” he stated.
Activist Mwagodi is known for his vocal campaigns against political interference in religious spaces.
Mwabili’s disappearance
Vocal Africa Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid confirmed the incident on Friday morning, July 25, 2025, saying Mwagodi’s family informed him of the activist’s disappearance.
“A Kenyan has been abducted in Tanzania. Again. Family has confirmed that Mwabili Mwagodi, who is a Kenyan activist and was vocal against church donations, was abducted in Tanzania on Wednesday,” Khalid stated.
Mwagodi, who had been staying in Tanzania in recent months, gained public attention for his Occupy the Church campaign, which called out religious leaders for accepting donations from politicians.
His actions sparked sharp debate around the independence of religious institutions.
According to his wife, the activist left for Dar es Salaam at around 10 pm on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, opting to use public transport instead of his vehicle.
He never arrived. She said his phone went off during the journey and has remained unreachable since, heightening fears that he may have been forcibly taken.
Mwagodi previously worked in the hospitality sector in Mombasa before relocating to Tanzania. It was in Mombasa that he began his activism against the presence of politicians in churches and mosques.
He has also been an outspoken critic of President William Ruto’s administration.
In 2024, he travelled from Mombasa to Nyahururu to mobilise youth against the now-defunct Finance Bill 2024, joining other activists who participated in the Gen Z protests.