Kenyan activist and renowned human rights defender Boniface Mwangi has made shocking allegations of torture and sexual abuse by Tanzanian security agents during a recent detention in Dar es Salaam.
Mwangi, who had traveled to Tanzania to attend the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, says he was ambushed shortly after checking into his hotel. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, June 2, 2025, Mwangi recounted being forcibly taken by unidentified men he later identified as state security operatives.
“They told me to strip naked… tied me upside down, put lubricant in my rectum, and started inserting objects in my backside,” Mwangi stated, visibly shaken. He alleged the abuse was carried out on orders from a Tanzanian state official, after he was blindfolded, stripped, and tortured while in custody.
Mwangi’s ordeal began in the early hours of the morning, when men claiming to be police officers attempted to forcibly remove him from his hotel room. He resisted and sought help from Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire, who later witnessed part of the abuse.
After being taken to immigration offices, Mwangi said he was fingerprinted, photographed, and had his phone confiscated. Although lawyers from the Tanganyika Law Society arrived to assist, they were denied access. Later that evening, Kenya’s Ambassador to Tanzania informed him of plans for his deportation.
Before his release, Mwangi claimed he was physically assaulted in the presence of lawyers and fellow activists. “He called me an enemy of the state and said they would teach me a lesson,” Mwangi recalled of one state officer involved in his abuse.
The Tanzanian government has yet to respond to the allegations. However, the incident has sparked outrage from human rights groups and international observers, who are demanding an independent investigation.
Mwangi, now back in Nairobi and receiving medical care, remains defiant. “This was an attempt to silence me,” he said, vowing to continue advocating for justice and accountability.
The incident has heightened concerns over Tanzania’s handling of dissent and the treatment of foreign activists under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
