What began as a peaceful act of regional solidarity turned into an unthinkable nightmare for Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire.
The two human rights defenders, who had traveled to Tanzania on May 18, 2025, to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu, were abducted, tortured, and sexually assaulted—allegedly at the hands of Tanzanian state operatives and hired gangs.
In a chilling press briefing upon their release, the pair gave harrowing testimony that has sent shockwaves across East Africa.
Boniface and Agather had intended to attend Lissu’s court hearing and return home. Instead, they were forcibly removed from their hotel, passed between police stations, and interrogated by immigration officials before being handed over to “men with one job to inflict pain.”
“They beat me up inside a police station. They told me I had come to destroy Tanzania,” Boniface said.
Agather described how even with their lawyers present, the intimidation and threats were brazen.
“A man named Mafwele said he would rape me in front of our lawyers,” she said. “And they did nothing.”
Stripped, Beaten, and Dehumanized
Their descriptions of the torture are horrifying. They were blindfolded, stuffed into a Land Cruiser, and taken to a secret location.
“They tied me upside down. Beat my feet. Stuffed my underwear in my mouth. Played gospel music to drown my screams,” Boniface said.
“They sodomized us with objects and told us to say, ‘Asante Samia,’” he continued, referencing Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Agather confirmed the sexual torture was done with foreign objects, not bodily organs.
“They had clear instructions: cause as much pain as possible.”
Beyond physical assault, the pair described psychological torture designed to break them mentally.
“They drove us for hours blindfolded. I thought they’d feed us to wild animals or drown us in the ocean,” said Agather.
“They gave me mandazi and tea after a night on a cold floor. It felt like a final meal,” said Boniface.
On Thursday morning, Boniface was dropped at the Kenya-Tanzania border, given Ksh.400 and Tsh.20,000, and left to flee on a boda boda.
Both activists accused a man named Faustine Mafwele of orchestrating the torture.
“This man said he would circumcise me again. He was not afraid. No one was,” Boniface said.
“This was public impunity — officials outsourcing torture to gangs,” Agather added.
The two credited their survival to public pressure across the region.
“We are alive because of ordinary East Africans. No guns, no money. Just noise. And that saved us,” said Agather.
She described Tanzania as more terrifying than even Uganda’s notorious state security.
“I come from a dictatorship. But I have never seen anything like what Tanzania did to us,” she said.
Both activists say they will pursue legal action against Tanzanian authorities.
“This is not just our fight. If we let this go, no East African is safe,” Boniface concluded.
Human rights groups in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have begun mobilizing, calling for An independent international investigation, sanctions against those named, and accountability from President Samia’s government.
