Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi has fled to neighbouring Kenya to seek asylum citing political persecution, according to media outlets in both countries.

The activist says her children had been trailed by the police and "abductions and detentions of political actors were getting closer" to her, Nation Africa website reports.

"I just left prison in February last year and I don’t want to go back," the website quotes her as saying.

Her lawyer George Luchiri Wajackoyah also confirmed she had fled, according to Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper.

Ms Nyanzi unsuccessfully vied for Kampala Woman MP in last month's general election.

She is a strong critic of President Yoweri Museveni's administration and was previously detained for abusing the president.