Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi cried during Monday press conference as he described torture at hands of Tanzanian security forces. The human rights campaigner said guards sexually abused him and left him broken after May 19 detention. Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire joined Mwangi at the event and shared similar experiences from their arrest. Both activists had traveled to Dar Es Salaam to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu ahead of October elections. Tanzanian authorities grabbed them from the economic capital and held them for questioning.
Mwangi told reporters that guards forced objects into his body and made him thank President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Security forces beat his feet until he screamed and could not breathe from the pain. The attackers threatened to tell his family about the sexual abuse if he spoke publicly about his treatment. Atuhaire confirmed similar torture happened to her during their detention period. The activists said their bodies suffered damage but their fighting spirit remains strong.
President Hassan accused foreign activists of interfering with Tanzanian politics and crossing boundaries. She ordered security services to stop outsiders from meddling with domestic affairs on the arrest day. Opposition groups claim Hassan follows the same harsh path as former president John Magufuli who died during 2021. Tanzania plans presidential and legislative elections for October after decades under single party rule. The East African nation has stayed under the same political control since gaining independence during 1961.
Mwangi told reporters that guards forced objects into his body and made him thank President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Security forces beat his feet until he screamed and could not breathe from the pain. The attackers threatened to tell his family about the sexual abuse if he spoke publicly about his treatment. Atuhaire confirmed similar torture happened to her during their detention period. The activists said their bodies suffered damage but their fighting spirit remains strong.
President Hassan accused foreign activists of interfering with Tanzanian politics and crossing boundaries. She ordered security services to stop outsiders from meddling with domestic affairs on the arrest day. Opposition groups claim Hassan follows the same harsh path as former president John Magufuli who died during 2021. Tanzania plans presidential and legislative elections for October after decades under single party rule. The East African nation has stayed under the same political control since gaining independence during 1961.
