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Details have emerged on how Ugandan journalist and human rights lawyer Agather Atuhaire and her Kenyan counterpart Boniface Mwangi were kidnapped and detained in Tanzania where they were allegedly tortured and mistreated before being dumped in their respective countries with the U.S. government also weighing on their ordeal with several demands.
Lifting the lid on her ordeal, Atuhaire explained that five men and one woman were involved in the operation that was sanctioned by Tanzanian leadership.
She recounted in a statement released on May 24, 2025 that the abductors ambushed them, and shoved her into a waiting van that was dark inside.
The violent push into the waiting car saw her land with a thud, nearly resting nearly resting her behind on guns that were in the vehicle.
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When 5 mean-looking men and one woman pushed us into a very dark car where I almost sat on guns and very violently blindfolded us and drove off, I thought it was over! Anyway, I will say more later
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Claims of torture
She was blindfolded and moved to an unknown location with her abductors acting aggressively and in a way that instilled fear in her, making her believe she was in danger.
When I get there, the first order is to take off my clothes. Before I did anything, there was someone who hit me on my back and another who violently took off my clothes. They threw me down and handcuffed me. They tried to put a sweater so the injuries on my hands would have been quite severe.
There's one hitting under my feet so badly, the pain was too much and another shoving something in my...so that is rape, by all standards.
Atuhaire and Mwangi were both detained in the neighbouring country in unclear circumstances with both reporting that they had been tortured during their ordeal in which they were held incommunicado for nearly a week.
Release from captivity
Mwangi was first to be released by his captors who dumped him in a remote location of Ukunda from where he was airlifted to Nairobi for treatment.
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“I have gone through four very dark days, I have been tortured very badly, I can barely walk,” Mwangi stated on the day that he was found dumped in Horohoro near Kenya’s border with Tanzania.
Agather on the other hand was released on May 23 in a similar manner and abandoned at the Mutukula border between Uganda and Tanzania.
She was found in a bad condition with renowned activist and CEO of VOCAL Africa Hussein Khalid demanding for justice.
"Tortured, wounded, broken body but determined spirit. Agather has been found. They must pay for what they did to Boniface Mwangi and Agather. Justice must be done and seen to have been done," Khalid said.
President Samia Suluhu under scrutiny & U.S. gov't's response
President Samia Suluhu will be on the ballot for seeking a new mandate later on this year and the lens is on her with the opposition blaming her for the shrinking democratic space even as it pushes for reforms before the polls.
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The United States government has called for investigations into the allegations of human rights abuses.
A statement released by the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs expressed deep concern over the allegations and called for speedy and thorough investigations.
The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists – Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi. Atuhaire was recognized by the US State Department in 2024 as an International Women of Courage Awardee.
READ: Emotions run high as Boniface Mwangi's wife demands his release [VIDEO]
We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses. We urge all countries in the region to hold to account those responsible for violating human rights, including torture
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Tanzania’s crackdown on the opposition and allegations of torturing human rights activists continue to paint the East African nation, with the country’s opposition linking it all to the upcoming elections in which the incumbent President Samia Suluhu will be on the ballot for seeking a new mandate.