Kenya’s Boniface Mwangi and Uganda’s Agather Atuhaire left their countries on May 18, 2025, they were hopeful to show their support to Tundu Lissu, a Tanzanian opposition leader charged with treason
What was meant to be a trip to attend a court hearing and return home turned to torture in the hands of alleged state officials and hired gangs in Tanzania.
Forcefully taken from their hotel on Monday, May 18, the right defenders were taken to police stations after another, questioned by immigration officers and handed to their tormenters.
In a tell-all press address on Monday, Bony and Agather said the assault began in a police station on Monday, in the presence of their legal team.
While at the immigration offices, Bony says he got a call from the Kenyan Ambassador to Tanzania, who told him he was going to be deported. “I said I am happy to go home.”
This did not happen, as minutes later they were taken to a police station where state security began beating him up, saying he was out to destroy the country (Tanzania).
We were transferred to a police station where we found a guy called Mafwele. The beating continued in the presence of three lawyers. At that station, Mafwele said he is going to rape Agather,” Bony recalled.
“When the lawyers left us they did not tell our families that we are being beaten, threatened and harassed. Because Mafwele, in front of the lawyers asked if I was circumcised. He said they would circumcise me again.”
At the Central police station, an unknown gang walked in. The activists were blindfolded and pushed into a Landcruiser which drove off for about 20 minutes. They were ushered into a room that became their torture chamber.
“They told me to strip naked. When I stripped, they removed my handcuffs. I was grabbed by around four men, they lifted me up so fast, and tied me upside down. They started beating my feet. They put my underwear in my mouth, they played gospel music in the car to drown my pain,” Bony recalls.
He ays he was then sexually assaulted, ‘in the name of Samia’. The sexual assault was similar for both activists, who had objects inserted in their anal part.
“They would ask me to say I am feeling nice, and say ‘Asante Samia’. I started bleeding. All this time they are saying they are recording what they are doing to me,” Bony shared.
Agather recalled that the tormenters never used their sexual organs but other objects to sexually assault them. While handcuffed and blindfolded, pain was also inflicted on their feet.
“The people had come with one instruction. ‘Inflict as much pain as you can,” said Agather.
After the torture, they spent Monday night on a cold floor before being separately transferred to a different location on Tuesday morning.
“I did not know where I was but could hear the call for prayers. They would come, insult me and go. On Wednesday morning they gave me a cup of tea and mandazi,” Bony said.
The psychological torture of those hours of driving was worse than the physical torture. I kept thinking they were driving us to the park to be eaten by animals, sometimes I would hear the ocean roaring and I thought they would throw us in the ocean,” Agather narrated.
At the torture chambers, doses of painkillers were administered to the activists.
Bony recalled that on Thursday morning, he was driven to a border point where there was a boda boda guy waiting to ferry him into Kenya.
There, he was given Tsh.20,000 and Ksh.400 to cater for his transport.
Agather also named a Faustine Mafwele as the man who ordered the gang to assault them.
“Public officials were not afraid of sending us to thugs. I cannot fathom that level of open impunity. If that doesn’t scare East Africans….. sexual violence is the first thing they think of,” she shared.
I come from a country (Uganda) where the state is dictatorial, where there’s impunity but I have never seen a worse country like Tanzania,” Agather said, thanking East Africans for their call to have them released.
“We are alive because of you, East African Citizens. We are on our own, we were saved by you, ordinary people. No guns, no money, nothing but noise. We only have each other,” she said while lamenting how the partner states have resorted to violate human rights