Tag: Agather Atuhaire

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire has detailed a harrowing account of torture and abuse at the hands of Tanzanian authorities following her detention alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi.

Speaking at a press conference on June 2, 2025, Atuhaire described a brutal ordeal that included physical assault, sexual violation, and being overdosed on painkillers in an apparent attempt to mask the severity of her injuries.

Atuhaire and Mwangi were detained by Tanzanian state officers while staying at a hotel in Tanzania, an operation she claims was facilitated by hotel staff.

The two were held incommunicado for several days before being released at border points—Atuhaire at the Mutukula border with Uganda and Mwangi at the Horohoro border with Kenya.

The arrests, which Atuhaire said came without clear charges, have sparked outrage across East Africa, raising questions about state impunity and the erosion of regional freedoms.

“They removed all my clothes and left me in my underwear. They beat me. Then I was taken to a clinic, and they inserted stuff into me,” Atuhaire recounted, her voice trembling as she described being forced to lie flat while unknown substances were injected and inserted into her body. “I had no strength left to resist.”

Atuhaire revealed that the perpetrators did not use their sexual organs, which she described as a small mercy amid the violence.

However, the physical and emotional scars remain. “I couldn’t walk for three days. The soles of my feet were so swollen, it felt like my skin would burst,” she said, describing the pain that left her incapacitated.

In what she believes was an attempt to cover up the extent of her injuries, Atuhaire said Tanzanian officers administered excessive doses of painkillers.

“They kept giving me painkillers. They almost overdosed me,” she explained, noting that a medical note prescribed a dosage of “one times two,” while she was given the drugs up to four times a day.

“They started to panic that I might not leave in a physically stable condition. They had to make sure I walked out looking like a human being.”

The detention began with hours of interrogation at an immigration office and a police station, where Atuhaire and Mwangi were bombarded with questions unrelated to their presence in Tanzania.

“They went through my passport and were angered by the number of visas I had. They accused me of being funded by whites to destabilize the country,” Atuhaire said. One officer even remarked, “I should become an activist too if it gives this kind of life.”

Atuhaire’s ordeal escalated when she was blindfolded, a moment she described as nearly triggering a panic attack.

“I had always thought that if I were ever captured, I would carry poison to avoid going through torture. But in that moment, I realized I had to surrender to whatever would happen,” she said.

The activist pointed to a Tanzanian official, identified as Faustin Mafia, who allegedly handed her and Mwangi over to “thugs” from police custody, highlighting what she called a “chilling level of state-sanctioned impunity.”

Unlike in Uganda, where abductions are often covert, Atuhaire noted that Tanzanian authorities acted openly, showing no fear of accountability.

Atuhaire criticized both Tanzanian and Ugandan governments for their complicity and inaction. “My government didn’t even pretend to care. For them, it was good riddance—someone else was getting rid of a headache,” she said.

She also condemned the broader East African leadership, stating, “We have no institutions. No police that protect citizens. No government. Just ourselves.”

Despite the trauma, Atuhaire credited ordinary East Africans for her release, saying their protests and public outcry pressured authorities.

“You saved us. The noise you made made them panic. We were not invisible like the Tanzanians they abduct, torture, and kill quietly,” she said.

Atuhaire called for justice and accountability, challenging Tanzania’s reputation as a peaceful nation.

“Tanzania has hidden behind a facade of peace for so long. But the mask is off,” she said.

“Maybe the pain we went through was so the world could know what ordinary Tanzanians go through. Maybe we had to suffer so that this impunity can be checked—so that no East African has to go through this again.”

The incident has reignited debates about political freedoms and state violence in the region, with activists and human rights groups demanding investigations into Atuhaire and Mwangi’s treatment.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi broke down in tears during a press briefing today as he recounted the horrific torture he endured while detained in Tanzania last month.

Mwangi, alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire, was subjected to severe physical and sexual abuse during their four-day detention, sparking widespread outrage and calls for justice across East Africa.

Mwangi described being stripped naked, tied upside down, and beaten on the soles of his feet by four Tanzanian captors.

“I was screaming so hard, but there were no tears coming out because of how painful it was,” he said, his voice trembling.

To muffle his cries, his captors stuffed underwear in his mouth and played gospel music in the background.

The assault escalated when, during an interrogation about his presence in Tanzania, one of the captors applied lubricant to his rectum and inserted objects, leaving Mwangi visibly shattered as he shared the ordeal.

Atuhaire, a Ugandan lawyer and journalist, also spoke at the briefing, revealing she was stripped naked, beaten, and sexually violated after refusing to undress.

“The first blow was to my back,” she recalled, adding that the treatment she received in Tanzania was worse than what she had experienced in Uganda, where she often felt targeted for her activism.

“I expected Tanzania to be better, but it convinced me it’s more dictatorial than Uganda,” she said.

The activists had traveled to Dar es Salaam on May 19 to attend the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces charges for advocating electoral reforms ahead of the country’s 2025 elections.

Their detention began after Mwangi reported a late-night standoff with suspected Tanzanian officers at his hotel, a situation he documented on social media, expressing fears for his safety.

Both activists were arrested, held incommunicado, and tortured under what Mwangi described as orders from a “state security” official for a “Tanzanian treatment.”

Mwangi and Atuhaire were deported on May 22 and found abandoned at the borders of their respective countries—Mwangi in Ukunda, Kwale County, and Atuhaire at the Mutukula border between Uganda and Tanzania.

Mwangi was barely able to walk upon his release, requiring urgent medical attention in Nairobi, while Atuhaire bore visible scars from the abuse.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism from regional and international bodies.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs called for an “immediate and full investigation” into the allegations, noting Atuhaire’s recognition as a 2024 International Women of Courage awardee.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have echoed the demand, condemning Tanzanian authorities for what they describe as a pattern of suppressing dissent under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.

Hassan had previously warned foreign activists against “interfering” in Tanzania, a statement rights groups argue has emboldened state violence.

Mwangi expressed deep disappointment in the Kenyan government, accusing it of siding with Tanzania and abandoning him despite his history of advocating for others across East Africa, including Ugandan activist Bobi Wine.

“I’ve traveled to support others, but this time I felt let down,” he said.

The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement during the ordeal, protesting Tanzania’s denial of consular access to Mwangi, but critics argue the response was inadequate.

The detention of Mwangi and Atuhaire was part of a broader crackdown on activists attending Lissu’s trial. Other human rights defenders, including Martha Karua, Gloria Kimani, Lynn Ngugi, Hussein Khalid, Hanifa Adan, and former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, were deported from Tanzania between May 18 and 19.

The incident has heightened tensions between Kenya and Tanzania, with activists vowing to seek justice for the abuses endured.

As Mwangi and Atuhaire recover from their trauma, their accounts have shed light on the escalating repression in Tanzania, raising urgent questions about the state of human rights in the region as the country approaches its 2025 elections.