NAIROBI, Kenya – June 2 – Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan human rights defender Agather Atuhaire have come forward with harrowing accounts of torture and sexual assault allegedly carried out by Tanzanian security agents during their detention in Dar es Salaam last month.
Speaking publicly for the first time on Monday, Mwangi described in graphic detail a series of violations they say they suffered after being arrested on May 19 while in Tanzania to show solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
Mwangi, a renowned photojournalist and pro-democracy campaigner, said the ordeal began the night before, when armed men attempted to access his hotel room at the Serena Hotel under the guise of conducting a routine police inspection. After refusing to open the door, citing concerns over safety, he alerted local activists and posted a warning on social media.
The following morning, Mwangi was apprehended by immigration officers led by Commissioner Samwel Mahirane and taken in for questioning. Security agents later arrested Atuhaire after hotel CCTV showed her removing Mwangi’s bag from his room—a move that authorities cited as justification for her detention.
According to Mwangi, what followed was a series of degrading interrogations, physical beatings, and eventually, horrifying acts of sexual violence. The two activists say they were blindfolded, beaten, and sexually assaulted at an undisclosed location by individuals they believe were part of Tanzania’s state security apparatus.
“They laughed as they tortured us,” Mwangi wrote in a public statement. “They beat the soles of my feet with wooden planks, inserted foreign objects into my anus, and threatened to release videos and photos if I ever spoke out.”
Mwangi said their torturers made threats against his wife and children, demanded access to his electronic devices and social media accounts, and accused him of helping to burn Kenya’s Parliament—an allegation he believes was fed to Tanzanian authorities by unnamed Kenyan sources.
Atuhaire’s screams for help, Mwangi said, could be heard during his own torture. He also recounted being told to crawl “like a dog” due to the excruciating pain inflicted on his feet.
The activists were later dumped at the Horohoro border near Ukunda, Kenya, on May 22, without official deportation orders. Mwangi says he was released with a warning: never return to Tanzania and never speak about the experience.
Neither the Tanzanian nor Kenyan governments have issued official statements in response to the allegations, which, if verified, would constitute serious violations of international human rights law and the East African Community’s foundational principles.
