Mwangi and Atuhaire said they were in Tanzania to attend the first court appearance of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
Two prominent East African human rights activists, Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Agather Atuhaire of Uganda, have accused Tanzanian security forces of sexual assault during their recent detention in Dar es Salaam.
The activists, who were held for several days in May, made the disturbing allegations at a press conference in Nairobi on Monday, according to Reuters.
Mwangi and Atuhaire said they were in Tanzania to attend the first court appearance of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
They were arrested on May 19, the same day President Samia Suluhu Hassan publicly warned foreign activists against “invading and interfering in our affairs.”
The activists say they were taken from their hotel in Dar es Salaam by Tanzanian police, blindfolded, and transported to an undisclosed location.
Mwangi, visibly emotional, said he was interrogated about his phone and laptop, stripped, blindfolded, and sexually assaulted. He added that his assailants photographed him during the abuse.
“I was violated in the most dehumanising way,” Mwangi said, struggling through tears. “No human being deserves to go through what we experienced.”
Atuhaire recounted a similar ordeal, stating that she too was blindfolded, tied up, and sexually assaulted by Tanzanian officers. Both activists said they were eventually abandoned near their respective borders and forced to cross back into their home countries.
Tanzanian authorities have not publicly commented on the activists’ detention or the serious allegations. Requests for responses from Tanzania's government, foreign ministry, and police went unanswered as of Tuesday.
Kenya's foreign affairs ministry and Uganda's information ministry also did not respond to calls seeking comment.
The activists’ allegations come amid growing concern over the Tanzanian government's treatment of political dissidents.
Tundu Lissu, who was the runner-up in Tanzania’s last presidential election, was arrested in April and charged with treason for allegedly inciting rebellion ahead of the upcoming October general elections.
President Hassan, who took office in 2021 following the death of John Magufuli, was initially lauded for relaxing the harsh political climate.
However, rights groups and opposition figures have increasingly criticised her administration for what they describe as a resurgence of repression, including arbitrary arrests and mysterious disappearances of government critics.
While Hassan has publicly committed to upholding human rights and ordered investigations into some reported abuses, incidents like the alleged assaults on Mwangi and Atuhaire are raising alarm among civil society organizations in the region.
The activists’ harrowing accounts are likely to intensify calls for an independent investigation and could strain diplomatic ties among East African nations.
Human rights organisations have urged the Tanzanian government to respond transparently to the allegations and ensure accountability for any abuses committed.
Mwangi and Atuhaire have vowed to pursue legal action and called on international human rights bodies to intervene.
“We cannot allow state-sanctioned brutality to become the norm,” Atuhaire said. “Silence is complicity.”