KAMPALA, Uganda – When Ugandan activist and journalist Agather Atuhaire crossed the border into Tanzania last week, she expected to observe a political trial.
Instead, she emerged days later at the Mutukula border—battered, traumatised, and scarred by what she describes as systematic torture.
“I still can’t believe what happened,” Atuhaire said in a chilling statement after her release on May 23. “I was stripped of my clothes and dignity, thrown to the floor, handcuffed and gagged.”
Atuhaire, who had traveled to Dar es Salaam alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi to observe the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, said her ordeal began shortly after their arrest on May 19.
Good people, I have no words🥹🥹 thank you for your support, concern and love. I am not okay but what a relief to be alive and back home! I still can’t believe @bonifacemwangi and I made it out alive. When 5 mean looking men and one woman pushed us into a very dark car where I
The two were seized from the Serena Hotel and held incommunicado for four days at an undisclosed location.
“They threw me down and stripped me. They hit me on the back. I screamed until they gagged my mouth,” she recounted. “My feet were hurting from the beatings. I could hear Boniface screaming too. They turned up the music to drown out his cries.”
Both Atuhaire and Mwangi have accused Tanzanian security forces of torture, sexual violence, and psychological abuse—allegations that have triggered a wave of outrage across East Africa and calls for an independent investigation.
Amnesty International has demanded an urgent probe into the detention, torture, and forced deportation of the two activists.
“For four days, these human rights defenders were subjected to unimaginable cruelty,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa. “There must be accountability and justice. Effective investigations must be opened immediately.”
The two were released following diplomatic pressure from Uganda and Kenya, with Mwangi dropped at the Horohoro border on May 22, and Atuhaire at the Mutukula crossing the next day.
Both showed signs of physical abuse, including visible bruising and difficulty walking.
Amnesty also condemned Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s recent comments branding human rights activists as “foreign agents,” warning that her administration’s stance risks legitimising further repression.
“Trial observation is not a threat to national security—it’s a fundamental pillar of fair justice,” Chagutah said. “President Samia’s remarks send a chilling message aimed at silencing civil society.”
The incident has spotlighted a broader crackdown on dissent in Tanzania ahead of the country’s October 2025 elections.
Amnesty reports increasing persecution of journalists, opposition figures, and protestors.
Supporters of Tundu Lissu have been violently dispersed from court premises, with over 20 reportedly beaten and dumped in a forest.
There are also reports of sexual assault by security forces during the arrests.
The brutal treatment of Atuhaire and Mwangi has sparked a reckoning in the region, where shrinking civic space and rising authoritarianism are becoming increasingly common.
As activists and citizens rally in solidarity, pressure continues to mount on the Tanzanian government to come clean—and on the international community to respond decisively.
