Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested the continued denial of consular access to prominent activist Boniface Mwangi, who was arrested in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Monday. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry revealed that despite multiple official requests, Tanzanian authorities have not provided any information regarding Mwangi’s whereabouts or condition.
Mwangi was arrested by suspected military officers after arriving in Tanzania to attend the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. His detention and the lack of transparency surrounding it have triggered diplomatic tensions between the two East African nations.
“The Ministry is concerned about his health, overall wellbeing and the absence of information regarding his detention,” the statement read. Kenya urged Tanzania to allow consular access or release Mwangi in line with international legal obligations, including the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The treaty guarantees that consular officers have the right to visit and communicate with nationals who are detained abroad.
Mwangi’s wife, journalist Njeri Mwangi, visited the Tanzania High Commission in Nairobi on Wednesday, only to be told that they had no information about her husband. “The Tanzanian authorities are saying they deported him, but where is he? Where is Bonnie?” she asked emotionally. “Give us back Boniface, wounded or dead.”
On Tuesday, a Tanzanian human rights organization reported that both Mwangi and fellow Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire had been deported. However, Amnesty International countered that the duo had been held incommunicado by the military.
Most regional activists who traveled to support Lissu were either denied entry or deported upon arrival in Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu, in a national address, warned foreign activists against “interfering” in Tanzania’s affairs, urging security forces to be firm against what she termed regional intrusion.
The incident has sparked concern across East Africa, highlighting a broader trend of clampdowns on dissent. Kenya’s cooperation with Uganda during the controversial abduction of opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi last year further underscores the growing regional pattern of suppressing activism through state security apparatus.
