Wamuzi News Ke
Celebrated Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan human rights lawyer Agather Atuhaire claim they were brutally tortured while in Tanzanian custody — a story of violence, humiliation, and betrayal unfolding just across the border.
Mwangi and Atuhaire were arrested on May 20, 2025, while attending a court hearing in Dar es Salaam for Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges. What happened next, they say, was nothing short of a nightmare.
According to Mwangi, the pair were abducted by Tanzanian state agents and taken to an undisclosed location — a dark site of terror hidden from the public eye. There, Mwangi says, he was savagely beaten, stripped naked, and sexually assaulted with objects in an act of horrifying brutality.
“They hung me upside down, beating my feet relentlessly as they blasted gospel music to drown out my screams,” Mwangi recounted in a chilling press conference on June 2. “I was gagged with underwear, unable to cry. I felt pain that words cannot describe.”
Agather Atuhaire’s ordeal was equally harrowing. She says she was stripped by force and beaten after refusing to undress voluntarily. The assault, she said, started with a blow to her back before escalating into further violence.
After vanishing for three days, the two were dumped near the border and deported by road — dazed, traumatized, and left without explanation.
Now, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris is sounding the alarm. In a passionate statement on Tuesday, June 2, she demanded that Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu take immediate action.
“I call upon President Suluhu, not just as a leader, but as a mother and a symbol of progress, to ensure this vile injustice is addressed and never repeated,” Passaris said.
She didn’t mince words — describing the treatment of the two activists as “a stain on the region’s conscience and a gross violation of human dignity.”
Passaris condemned the attacks as a betrayal of human rights and a stark reminder of the dangers facing dissenting voices in East Africa.
Human rights defenders across Kenya and beyond are now demanding accountability. As outrage builds, many are asking: how could this happen under the watch of a government that claims to stand for democracy and justice?
As pressure mounts on Tanzanian authorities, the region watches — waiting for answers, justice, and a reassurance that such horrifying acts will never again be tolerated on African soil.
