NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has recalled his last moments with his Ugandan counterpart Agather Atuhaire after they were arrested and detained in the neighbouring Tanzania.
Mwangi, who had been detained in Tanzania for three days, was released on Thursday, May 22, 2025, shortly after the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs demanded his release.
On the other hand, Agather, a journalist and human rights lawyer, was dumped at night in Mutukula on the Uganda-Tanzania border.
Her release came a day after Mwangi was found at the Horo Horo border post near Lunga Lunga in Kwale County.
The two activists had been arrested on Monday in Dar es Salaam by suspected military officers, and their whereabouts remained unknown.
Why was Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania
They had been in the country to attend the court case of opposition leader Tindu Lissu, who is accused of treason
Before Agather’s release, Mwangi recounted his last encounter with her in the hands of Tanzanian security operatives.
“Agather is still missing in Tanzania. 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,” said Mwangi.
Taking to his social media accounts, Mwangi, an award-winning photojournalist, said they 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,” he recalled.
What did the man who tortured Boniface Mwangi look like
According to Mwangi, their torturers were acting on orders from a “state security” employee who came to immigration offices and followed them to Central Police Station and ordered that they should 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. He scared the three lawyers, and they left us at Central Police Station, where we were removed while handcuffed and blindfolded,” Mwangi added.
Mwangi described the man as of average height, with short hair with waves and light brown skin, and overweight.
“He has a sagging potbelly. On that day, he was wearing a black suit, black shoes, a white shirt, and no tie. One of the lawyers said he is state security and reports directly to @SuluhuSamia. If anyone is holding Agather, it’s that man and Suluhu. Let’s bring Agather home to her family,” Mwangi further said.
