Activists Boniface Mwangi Alleges Torture, Sexual Assault During Detention in Tanzania » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 2 – Activist Boniface Mwangi has come forward with a distressing account of torture and sexual assault allegedly inflicted by Tanzanian security forces during a recent trip to Dar es Salaam.

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday alongside Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire, Mwangi recounted the traumatic ordeal the two faced after traveling to Tanzania to support opposition figure Tundu Lissu during a court appearance.

The duo said they were detained incommunicado for several days before being forcibly deported, Mwangi through the Horohoro border crossing into Kenya, and Atuhaire through Mutukula into Uganda.

“We were abducted in Tanzania by Tanzanian security forces, and we were tortured. They told me to strip naked. When I did, I was grabbed by four men, lifted so fast. When they lifted me, they tied me upside down, put lubricant in my rectum and started inserting objects in my backside,” Mwangi narrated.

The activist said the ordeal began shortly after checking into his hotel in Dar es Salaam. In the early hours of the morning, unknown men knocked on his door, demanding that he come with them. He refused.

“I said I can’t leave my hotel room at that hour. At 3:30 a.m., a lawyer appeared claiming the men were police officers. Still, I refused and barricaded myself inside until morning,” he disclosed.

Later, as he prepared to check out, Mwangi asked Atuhaire to assist with his luggage. Upon going downstairs, he was ambushed by a larger group of the same men.

“I screamed throughout the hotel and ran to my colleagues. The men followed me and insisted they only wanted to question me,” Mwangi said.

He was taken to immigration offices, where he was fingerprinted, photographed, and asked to surrender his phone. Although three lawyers from the Tanganyika Law Society arrived to represent him, they were later denied access.

Forced Deportation

Mwangi said Kenya’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Isaac Njenga, informed him around 6 p.m. that he would be deported. However, before the process could unfold, a man claiming to be a government official allegedly began assaulting him in front of the lawyers and Atuhaire.

“Shortly after, a man claiming to be from the state office began beating me in front of the lawyers and Agather. He called me an enemy of the state and said they would teach me a lesson,” Mwangi said.

He added that the same officer threatened to rape Atuhaire and subsequently declared both under arrest.

The alleged incidents have sparked outrage across civil society groups in Kenya and Uganda, with demands for investigations into the conduct of Tanzanian authorities.

Human rights organizations have also called for accountability and an immediate review of how foreign nationals are treated by security forces in the region.