Boniface Mwangi Recounts Tanzania Ordeal As Lobby Group Issues Demands

Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has spoken out for the first time since being released from detention by Tanzanian authorities after arriving in the country on Monday, May 19, to observe the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu.

The human rights activist was arrested alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire in Dar es Salaam. Their whereabouts were unknown until Thursday, when Mwangi was deported by road and left near Ukunda in Kwale County.

After his release, he was taken to a local hospital in Kwale for medical evaluation before heading to Moi International Airport for a flight to Nairobi.

Speaking to the media with his wife, Njeri Mwangi, at his side, he confirmed being tortured and said he was barely able to walk. He also revealed that Atuhaire remains missing and had been subjected to the same abuse.

“I’ve gone through four dark days, I have been tortured very badly, I can barely walk, but I am very concerned about Agather because we were tortured together, and they did very horrible things to us. So, I hope Agather is safe,” Mwangi said.

On her part, Njeri sent her appreciation to everyone who played a major role in ensuring that Mwangi was brought back to the country.

Mwangi, in photos and footage seen by Viral Tea, looked visibly weak, with clear bruises on his arms and legs. One of the videos showed him being wheeled around in a wheelchair at Moi International Airport in Mombasa County.

Earlier, he had been spotted being helped into a vehicle by local activists at the Dongo Kundu bypass, after reportedly being dropped off in a private car from Horohoro, the border point between Kenya and Tanzania at Lunga Lunga.

“We appreciate all the solidarity and everything that you have done for us. He was dumped by himself, we don’t know where Agather is or where she was taken. Bonnie was dumped at the HoroHoro border post, and he found his way up to Lungalunga, where he was picked up,” Njeri weighed in.

Meanwhile, the Police Reforms Working Group Kenya (PRWG-K) issued a statement after Mwangi's release, strongly condemning his unlawful arrest, detention, and torture by Tanzanian law enforcement and expressing concern regarding the fate of Atuhaire, who is yet to be released or produced in a court of law.

"The cruel and degrading treatment inflicted upon Mwangi contravenes international law, including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Furthermore, international customary law obligates every state to act against those who torture.  

"The Government of Tanzania cannot hide behind national sovereignty to justify committing serious crimes and human rights violations against its own citizens and other East Africans. We remain very concerned with the continued enforced disappearance of Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire, detained alongside Mwangi," the group stated in part.

As a result, PRWG-K called for Tanzanian authorities to release Atuhaire and all Tanzanian activists currently detained in violation of international and regional human rights standards, unconditionally. Furthermore, the government of Tanzania was asked to allow an independent probe into the torture allegations, and the perpetrators must be held accountable. 

The group's demands extended to the East African Community (EAC), which was tasked, alongside Tanzania’s international partners, to deploy fact-finding missions into these and other human rights violations that are being accelerated ahead of the November elections.

"Diplomatic Intervention – The Community of Nations, including regional and international human rights mechanisms such as the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner and the Committe Against Torture alongside the Kenyan and Ugandan governments must urgently and publicly express concerns demand the protection of their citizens’ rights in Tanzania.

"Media & Civil Society Safeguards – EAC states must end the criminalisation of dissent and uphold freedom of expression," added the statement.