This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
On June 24, 2019, at around 9:30 pm, Raphael Ongangi, a Kenyan businessman running a cargo logistics business in Tanzania, was abducted at the intersection of Karume-Msasani Road in the upmarket Oysterbay neighborhood, next to the Ugandan High Commission.
After a week-long search, Ongangi was found in Mombasa, according to his wife Veronica Kundya, who spoke to Tanzanian publication The Citizen on July 2, 2019.
“I am in a hurry and I cannot say much now,” said Ms. Kundya.
However, she expressed gratitude to those who played a role in securing Ongangi's release, saying, “But I thank God and each and everyone out for playing a role, in one way or the other, in accomplishing this.”
Pressure from government officials in Tanzania and social media users from Kenya and Tanzania, who used the #BringBackRaphaelOngangi hashtag on Twitter, contributed to Ongangi's safe return.
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi confirmed the news on social media, stating, “Raphael Ongangi is Free. He was abducted in Dar es Salaam last week and dumped in Mombasa this morning.”
