Boniface Mwangi recalls torture ordeal in Tanzania with Ugandan activist Agather
A day after his release from detention in Tanzania, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi on Friday, May 23, 2025, has revealed what he went through alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire.
Mwangi, who was detained alongside Agather, revealed that they were together until Tuesday, May 20, 2025, morning when they were separated under unclear circumstances.
During their detention, Mwangi says they were subjected to brutal and inhumane treatment. He recounts that both of them were stripped, tortured, and forced to crawl while handcuffed and blindfolded.
They were ordered to clean up blood while enduring severe pain, and any attempt to communicate was violently suppressed. Mwangi says that since he was blindfolded, he could not see her but heard her groaning in pain.
Eventually, they were taken away in separate vehicles, and he has not seen her since.
“The last time I was in the same space with @AAgather was Tuesday morning. We had been tortured, and we were told to strip naked and to go bathe. We couldn’t walk and were told to crawl and go wash off the blood. We were handcuffed and blindfolded, so I didn’t even see her, but I heard her groaning in pain as they barked orders at us. Any attempt to speak to each other during the night we were tortured was met with kicks and insults. We were removed from the torture location in different vehicles,” Mwangi says
Mwangi attributes the torture to directives from Tanzanian state security operatives who had accompanied them from the immigration offices to the Central Police Station.
According to him, it was there that the torturers were instructed to administer what was termed as “Tanzanian treatment”. He claims that the same official who issued the torture orders later assaulted him in front of his lawyers from the Tanganyika Law Society.
Mwangi describes the man as having light brown skin, short wavy hair, being of average height, and dressed in a black suit. He believes identifying this man could be key to finding Agather.
“Our torturers were acting on orders from a “state security” employee who came to immigration offices and followed us to Central Police Station and ordered that we be taken to a secret location to be given a “Tanzanian treatment”. That man assaulted me in the presence of three lawyers from the Tanganyika Law Society, and identifying him might help us find where Agather is being kept,’’ Mwangi continued.
One of his lawyers confirmed that the man is a state security officer who reports directly to the Tanzanian president.
Mwangi holds him responsible for Agather’s disappearance.
‘’If anyone is holding Agather, it’s that man and Suluhu. Let’s bring Agather home to her family.’ Mwangi says.
Mwangi’s detention
He was detained in Tanzania on May 19, 2025, alongside Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire. They were in Dar es Salaam to attend a court hearing for Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who was facing treason charges.
Mwangi was held incommunicado for three days, sparking widespread concern from his family, human rights groups, and the Kenyan government. His wife, Njeri Mwangi, publicly pleaded for his release, expressing fears of targeted harassment.
