Kenya Insights

Tag: torture

  • Activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire Seek Sh129 Million Each In Regional Court Case Over Tanzania Torture

    Activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire Seek Sh129 Million Each In Regional Court Case Over Tanzania Torture

    NAIROBI, Kenya – Prominent human rights activists Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Agather Atuhaire of Uganda have filed a major lawsuit at the East African Court of Justice demanding $1,000,000 (approx Ksh129 million) each in compensation after alleging torture and illegal deportation by Tanzanian authorities in May 2025.

    The case, filed alongside seven regional civil society organizations, accuses Tanzania of orchestrating their abduction, torture, unlawful detention and deportation while holding Kenya and Uganda responsible for failing to protect their citizens and uphold regional laws.

    According to court documents, the two activists had lawfully traveled to Tanzania to observe the treason trial of opposition leader and lawyer Tundu Lissu when they were abducted by unknown individuals from their hotel in Dar es Salaam between May 19 and 23, 2025.

    The activists allege they were first taken to the Immigration Department and Central Police Station before being removed without legal explanation to an unknown location where they were subjected to physical and psychological torture, including sexual violence.

    They were later dumped across borders, with Atuhaire returned to Uganda and Mwangi to Kenya.

    “When a state goes rogue, the law must step in to protect its victims. What happened to us was evil, and was meant to silence us, but we refused to be silenced,” Mwangi said, adding that the case aims to give other victims of state brutality courage to seek justice.

    The lawsuit names the Attorneys General of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, as well as the Secretary General of the East African Community as respondents.

    The applicants argue that despite wide media coverage of their disappearance, both Kenyan and Ugandan governments failed to take meaningful action to secure their release or hold Tanzanian authorities accountable.

    The activists claim the actions violate the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other binding regional and international legal instruments.

    Beyond the Sh129 million compensation for each victim, the applicants are demanding public apologies from the three governments, rehabilitation and psychosocial support, formal condemnation by the EAC Secretary General, institutional reforms to prevent similar abuses, and a special summit of EAC Heads of State to discuss regional peace, justice and governance.

    David Sigano, CEO of the East Africa Law Society, said the violations strike at the core of regional values. “No citizen should be tortured, disappeared, or deported simply for observing a court trial. The East African Court of Justice must rise to the occasion,” he stated.

    Donald Deya, CEO of the Pan African Lawyers Union, described the case as defending the soul of East Africa and its principles of human dignity, regional integration, and rule of law.

    The applicants say the case serves as a warning to regional governments that human rights violations will not go without consequences, with the court’s response measuring the EAC’s commitment to justice and the rule of law.

  • Tanzanian Police Stripped and Took Naked Photos of Ugandan Activist Agather, Officer Who Ordered Torture Identified

    Tanzanian Police Stripped and Took Naked Photos of Ugandan Activist Agather, Officer Who Ordered Torture Identified

    Kampala, Uganda — Ugandan human rights activist Agather Atuhaire has returned home to Kampala after enduring four days of brutal detention in Tanzania, during which she was blindfolded, stripped naked, photographed without consent, and subjected to verbal and physical abuse by Tanzanian authorities.

    The ordeal has sparked regional outrage and renewed calls for accountability in cross-border enforcement actions.

    Agather Atuhaire moments after being dumped by the tanzisn authorities.
    Agather Atuhaire moments after being dumped by the tanzisn authorities.

    According to a statement by Agora Discourse, Atuhaire was illegally detained without charge and denied access to communication or legal assistance.

    She was held incommunicado, deprived of food, and had all her personal belongings including her phone and money confiscated.

    After days of mistreatment, she was dumped at 2 a.m. near the Mutukula border, roughly two kilometers from Uganda, with no transport or means to reach safety.

    A Good Samaritan eventually helped her return home.

    Atuhaire, who is now receiving medical attention, described the abuse as “inhumane and degrading,” alleging that Tanzanian police took nude photos of her while she was stripped and blindfolded.

    Her account is corroborated by fellow activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi, who was also detained and later released.

    Mwangi publicly identified Faustin Mafwele, a Tanzanian official, as the officer who ordered the torture.

    Faustin Mafwele.
    Faustin Mafwele.

    In a chilling post, Mwangi stated that Mafwele threatened to rape Atuhaire and impregnate her to “give her a daughter” because she is a mother of two boys.

    Mafwele allegedly made the call that resulted in the pair being picked up and tortured at the Central Police Station in Dar es Salaam.

    He is also accused of confiscating books and issuing threats based on politically motivated misinformation.

    Mwangi further claimed that the torture was influenced by a smear campaign originating in Kenya, implicating cross-border cooperation in the abuse.

    Prominent Kenyan lawyer and politician Martha Karua has demanded answers from Tanzanian authorities, questioning Mafwele’s affiliation with Tanzanian police and calling for a regional inquiry into the unlawful detention and torture.

    Advocacy groups are calling for an immediate investigation by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the East African Community.

    Despite the trauma, Atuhaire has vowed to continue her advocacy work. “This ordeal was meant to break me,” she said in a brief statement to friends. “But I refuse to be silenced.”

  • UN Expert: UK Wants To Kill Julian Assange With Psychological Torture

    UN Expert: UK Wants To Kill Julian Assange With Psychological Torture

    Nils Melzer a UN expert who visited the 48-year-old Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in a London prison on May 9, nearly a month after his arrest at Ecuador’s embassy where he was seeking asylum has said that the UK government wants to kill the whistleblower with psychological torture.

    The UN independent expert spoke to AFP via email and raised his concerns based on the new medically relevant information he has received from several reliable sources.

    “Mr Assange’s health has entered a downward spiral of progressively severe anxiety, stress and helplessness typical for persons exposed to prolonged isolation and constant arbitrariness.” reads part of Melzer’s email to AFP

    “Unless the UK urgently changes course and alleviates his inhumane situation, Mr Assange’s continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life,” the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, said in a statement.

    “While the precise evolution is difficult to predict with certainty, this pattern of symptoms can quickly develop into a life-threatening situation involving cardiovascular breakdown or nervous collapse,” he warned.

    In a statement released, yesterday Friday 1st November, Melzer noted that in May, he had urged that London immediately take measures to protect Assange’s health and dignity.

    “However, what we have seen from the UK Government is outright contempt for Mr Assange’s rights and integrity. Despite the medical urgency of my appeal, and the seriousness of the alleged violations, the UK has not undertaken any measures of investigation, prevention and redress required under international law,” he charged.

    In the statement, the expert pointed out that Assange had completed his prison sentence for violating his British bail terms in 2012.

    “Assange is being held exclusively in relation to the pending extradition request from the United States. He continues to be detained under oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance, not justified by his detention status,” he said.

    Assange is facing the extradition request by the US over charges he violated the US Espionage Act by publishing a huge cache of military and diplomatic files in 2010.

    “While the US Government prosecutes Mr. Assange for publishing information about serious human rights violations, including torture and murder, the officials responsible for these crimes continue to enjoy impunity. No one was arrested leave alone being questioned. So why is Assange in inhumane prison?” Melzer asked.

    As if what the UK is doing to the father of free press isn’t enough, he has been denied access to a  team which means he’s facing charges that he can’t prepare for his defence.

    “Despite the complexity of the proceedings against him led by the world’s most powerful Government, Mr Assange’s access to legal counsel and documents has been severely obstructed. He has been denied his most fundamental right to prepare his defence.”

    Melzer also urged that London should bar Assange’s extradition to Washington D.C. they should promptly release and allow Assange to recover his health and rebuild his personal and professional life.