Human rights activists in Kenya and Uganda are demanding accountability following accounts of torture and unlawful detention by Tanzanian police given by two lobbyists, Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire.
The activists, who were arrested separately in Tanzania on Monday under unclear circumstances, claim that they were subjected to sexual assault, beatings, intimidation and prolonged detention without access to legal representation.
Their cases have sparked outrage across East Africa, with civil society groups demanding an independent investigation into the practices of Tanzania’s law enforcement agencies.
Atuhaire, who was dumped at the Tanzania/Uganda border on Thursday night, was struggling to walk, her body aching from the torture she says she suffered at the hands of Tanzanian authorities.
In a chilling account on Saturday, Atuhaire described how she was stripped of her dignity and her clothes the moment she arrived at the detention centre.
“When I arrived, the first instruction was to remove my clothes. Before I could react, someone hit me on the back, and another person forcibly removed my clothes. They threw me down and handcuffed me. They tried to put a jumper on my injured hands,” she said, adding that she had been raped.
Human rights activists chant a solidarity song during a press briefing at the Mageuzi office in Hurlingham, Nairobi, on May 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
“There's one hitting under my feet so badly, the pain was too much and another shoving something in my... so that is rape, by all standards.”
Atuhaire added that later, she was transported to another location.
“My feet were hurting, I was screaming, and they gagged my mouth. They increased the volume of the music in the car. At first, I did not know where I was until I heard Boniface scream. They had increased the volume so that I don’t hear him, but the pain they were inflicting on him was too much,” Atuhaire said.
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi awaits to board an aircraft to Nairobi at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa May 22, 2025 after he was released by Tanzanian authorities.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
“I still can’t believe Boniface and I made it out alive. When 5 mean-looking men and one woman pushed us into a very dark car where I almost sat on guns and very violently blindfolded us and drove off, I thought it was over! I will say more later.”
On his part, Mwangi — who had been released a few hours earlier and dumped in Ukunda, near the Kenya-Tanzania border on the coast — said he and Atuhaire had travelled to Dar es Salaam in solidarity with the Tanzanian opposition leader, Tundu Lissu. However, they ended up as victims of what Mwangi describes as a politically motivated and inhumane ordeal.
'I can barely walk': Activist Boniface Mwangi speaks
“We had been tortured and were ordered to strip naked and bathe. We couldn't walk, so we were made to crawl and wash off the blood,” said Mwangi.
“We were handcuffed and blindfolded, so I couldn't see her, but I could hear her groaning in pain while they barked orders at us,” he said.
“Any attempt to speak to each other during the night we were tortured was met with kicks and insults. We were taken from the torture location in different vehicles,” he recounted.
Mwangi claims that the torture was orchestrated by a Tanzanian state security officer who followed them from the immigration offices to the central police station and ordered them to be taken to a secret location for what was termed “Tanzanian treatment”.
“That man assaulted me in front of three Tanganyika Law Society lawyers, and identifying him might help us find Agather,” he said after he was released.
“He scared the three lawyers and they left us at the Central Police Station, where we were taken away while still handcuffed and blindfolded.”
He described the man as being of average height and weight, with light brown skin and wavy short hair, and having a sagging potbelly. On the day in question, Mwangi said, the man was wearing a black suit, black shoes and a white shirt without a tie. Mwangi claims that the man reports directly to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“They accused me of being a foreign spy and working to destabilise the country. I was blindfolded, beaten, and denied food for hours,” he recounted.
The activists' treatment has sparked criticism from various leaders, who have accused the Tanzanian government of alleged abuses, with civil groups in Kenya and Uganda criticising the East African authorities for what they perceive as rising authoritarianism and restrictions on civil society.
Speaking on Friday, the activists said that these acts are not only unconstitutional, they are crimes against humanity and a betrayal of the democratic values our people have long fought for. The primary objective of a democratic nation is to let the people decide.
Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid called on all East Africans to come and stand with them.
“We are asking all East Africans, wherever you are and by and large all Africans, the time has come for us to stand up against authoritarianism, totalitarianism and all types of isms that are working against us,” he said.
Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid (center) speaks to the media at the Mageuzi office in Hurlingham, Nairobi, on May 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
“We will not allow oppression to take root in East Africa. And to all Africans, this is the time to stand firm and say we will no longer be used.”
“We demand that the people who subjected them to this torture be held accountable, including those directing these crimes, which have proven to be a directive of Suluhu Hassan,” Nungi Githuku, activist, stated.
According to the activists, Mwangi and Atuhaire were blindfolded, forced to strip naked, and tied by their hands and feet, with their bodies chained, hanging below.
“They were brutally beaten, Atuhaire raped, and tortured for hours, being forced to say Asante Mama Suluhu, while this terrifying process was all being recorded for the gruesome, sick, and terroristic, Mama Idi Amin. They spent days walking on their knees, crawling to bathe themselves to wash off the blood, as they could not stand after the torture, handcuffed and blindfolded, in solitary confinement for four days, with the occasional verbal, psychosocial and physical abuse along the way,” they said.
They called on Pan-African leaders, international bodies and regional organisations and said that a memo has been drafted and signed by over 40 solidarity networks, which will be officially presented to the African Union (AU).
“Our message is clear: We are demanding justice. We are demanding that the human rights of every citizen be respected, fully and without compromise,” they added.
The East Africa Civil Society Forum (EACSOF) also condemned the alleged abuses, urging the Tanzanian government to uphold human rights and the rule of law.
“These incidents are part of a worrying trend of suppressing dissent in the region. Tanzania must investigate these claims and hold rogue officers accountable," said EACSOF’s regional coordinator, Miriam Were.
At the same time, the United States called for a full investigation into the alleged torture of Kenyan activist Mwangi and Ugandan activist Atuhaire while in detention in Tanzania.
In a statement released on Saturday, the US Bureau of African Affairs expressed concern over the reported mistreatment of the two activists and demanded action.
“The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists, Atuhaire and Mwangi,” the statement read.
The US also urged East African countries to take firm steps in holding those responsible accountable.
“We urge all countries in the region to hold to account those responsible for violating human rights, including torture,” it stated.
For now, Mwangi and Atuhaire say they will continue their activism—but with caution. “We won’t be silenced, but we fear for others who may face worse,” Atuhaire said.
