Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan human rights activist, journalist, and lawyer Agather Atuhaire have publicly alleged that they were detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted by Tanzanian security officers in May 2025. The two activists were in Dar es Salaam to attend the first court appearance of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.

Mwangi and Atuhaire travelled to Dar es Salaam on May 18, 2025. While they were allowed entry, Mwangi stated that other activists on the same flight, including Martha Karua, Lynn Ngugi, and Gloria Kimani, were denied entry and deported. Later that night, at his hotel, Mwangi reported being approached by armed men in civilian clothing, escorted by hotel security, who claimed to be police officers conducting a routine inspection. He refused to open his door and contacted Tanzanian activists and lawyers.

The following morning, May 19, Mwangi was confronted by about a dozen police officers, both in uniform and plain clothes, led by Commissioner Samwel Mahirane of the Tanzania Immigration Department, and was taken for questioning. He stated he was interrogated about his activities, had his statement recorded, and his fingerprints and photographs taken. They demanded his phone and laptop, which he said he did not have with him at the time.

Mwangi believes Atuhaire was subsequently arrested because CCTV footage showed her entering his room and leaving with his bags, where he had asked her to keep them. Both activists reported that their phones were confiscated, and they were interrogated without legal counsel, as their lawyers were denied access. Mwangi mentioned that the Kenyan Ambassador to Tanzania, Isaac Njenga, contacted him and initially assured him he would be released and deported.

However, the situation allegedly escalated. Mwangi reported being assaulted by a state security officer in front of Atuhaire and their lawyers. Around the same time, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was quoted warning foreign activists against interfering in Tanzania's affairs. Atuhaire claimed they were transferred to a torture site by individuals summoned by Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele, who allegedly boasted of his untouchability. Mwangi recounted that at the Central Police Station, Mafwele accused him of serious crimes, including burning Kenya's Parliament in 2023 and being a member of an outlawed gang, and threatened to rape him while the assault continued. Mafwele also allegedly asked Mwangi if he was circumcised and threatened to 'circumcise him again'.

Mwangi provided a harrowing account of his torture, stating he was driven to an undisclosed location, ordered to strip naked, and had his hands and legs tied with rope. He described being suspended upside down from a metal pole and beaten mercilessly, with loud music playing to drown his screams. He alleged that a lubricant was applied to his anus before objects were inserted. The perpetrators reportedly laughed, filmed the ordeal, and forced him to say he was enjoying it and to shout 'Asante Mama Samia' (Thank you Mama Samia). He also stated he could hear Atuhaire screaming in another room and heard one of the torturers express a desire to rape her. They demanded access to his social media accounts and threatened harm to his wife and children if he spoke of the ordeal.

Atuhaire corroborated Mwangi's claims of severe torture, describing it as the worst she had ever experienced. She said she was taken to a dark room, ordered to undress, and was forcefully stripped. Like Mwangi, she was handcuffed, tied by her hands and legs, suspended upside down, and an object was inserted into her anus. Both activists noted, with a degree of relief, that their attackers did not use their own genitalia, which would have risked sexually transmitted infections. Atuhaire criticized their hotel for granting police access to their rooms and belongings and expressed shock at Tanzanian MPs debating their detention in what she termed a 'demeaning manner,' suggesting sexual violence was a 'go-to method' for them.

The activists believe that the outcry from people across East Africa on social media played a crucial role in their survival. Atuhaire expressed disappointment with her government's response, stating that while Mwangi's government issued a statement, the Ugandan government remained silent, making her feel it was a case of 'good riddance'. She also recounted being questioned about the numerous visas in her passport, which she believes fueled a narrative that 'the West sent us to disrupt Tanzania'.

According to their accounts, on May 20, they were woken, ordered to strip and shower, then bundled into separate vehicles and driven to different detention centers. Mwangi stated he was woken in the early morning, had money put in his pocket, and was dumped by a roadside. He took a motorcycle taxi (boda boda) to the Tanzanian border post at Horohoro, had his passport stamped, and crossed into Kenya's Kwale County on the morning of May 22, 2025. Atuhaire reported being abandoned at the Mutukula border post on the Uganda-Tanzania border on Friday, May 23, 2025.

These allegations arise within a concerning political climate in Tanzania. Tundu Lissu, the opposition leader whose trial the activists intended to observe, was arrested in April and charged with treason. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who initially received praise for easing political repression after taking office in 2021, has faced mounting criticism over a series of arrests and unexplained abductions of political opponents. While Hassan has stated her government's commitment to respecting human rights and ordered an investigation into reported abductions last year, the activists' ordeal has intensified concerns about a crackdown on dissent. Spokespeople for Tanzania's government, foreign affairs ministry, and police, as well as Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Uganda's information minister, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the activists' specific allegations. Mwangi and Atuhaire have expressed a need to find a way to seek justice for what they endured.