Ugandan journalist and governance advocate Agather Atuhaire has been found days after she went missing following her detention in Tanzania, her family has confirmed.
Agather, a human rights defender, had been detained in Tanzania after she was arrested alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi earlier this week.
She had reportedly travelled to Tanzania on various engagements, including attending a court session involving the country’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
In a statement on Friday, May 23, digital public square Agora Discourse which promotes human rights, public accountability and social justice confirmed that the activist was found safe near the Uganda-Tanzania border at Mutukula.
According to her family and Ugandan lawyers, Atuhaire was dumped at night and abandoned by Tanzanian authorities.
“We are relieved to inform the public that Agather has been found. She was abandoned at the border by Tanzanian authorities. Further details will be shared later today. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood in solidarity during this time. Your efforts truly made a difference,” said Agora Discourse.
Also Read: Pan-African Leaders Issue Demands After Boniface Mwangi Release
Agather Atuhaire released after detention in Tanzania
On his part, Kenyan journalist John Allan Namu said, “Spoken to a colleague of Agather and have been told that she too has been found.”
Atuhaire’s release comes after the Ugandan High Commission in Tanzania sent a letter to the Dar es Salaam police seeking permission to visit the activist, who the commission claimed was detained at the Central Police Station.
Uganda’s High Commissioner Col. (Rtd) Fred Mwesigye in a letter dated Thursday, May 22, said the mission received information about Atuhaire’s arrest and now seeks to talk to her and assess the possibility of securing her release and return to Uganda.
“This is to request for information on the above-mentioned Ugandan national in detention at your facility and permission for the Mission staff to visit and talk to her,” read part of the letter.
The Pan-African Progressive Leaders’ Solidarity Network on its part condemned Agather’s disappearance and the reported torture and illegal deportation of Boniface Mwangi by Tanzanian authorities.
In a statement issued on Thursday the Pan-African leaders asserted that the situation constitutes a serious breach of both national and international human rights standards, pointing to a dangerous and growing trend of coordinated abductions, forced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings across the East African region.
Boniface Mwangi released
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was on his part released earlier on Thursday, following his detention by suspected military officers in Tanzania who arrested him after travelling there on Monday, to observe the treason trial of Tundu Lissu.
He was detained alongside Atuhaire, with his whereabouts remaining unknown until when he was deported by road and abandoned near Ukunda in Kwale County.
Also Read: Boniface Mwangi: We Were Striped Naked Together with Agather
Following his release, he was rushed to a local hospital in the County for a medical review before moving to the Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa County ahead of his scheduled flight to Nairobi.
In photos seen by The Kenya Times, Mwangi appeared visibly frail with noticeable bruises on his limbs.
Another video showed the activist being assisted to a car by Mombasa activists at the Dongo Kundu bypass after he was allegedly brought by a private car from Horohoro, which is the Kenya-Tanzania border at LungaLunga.
The activist was also seen being pushed in a wheelchair at MIA before he boarded a flight which arrived on Thursday night in Nairob .
While addressing journalists at Wilson Airport shortly after arriving, Mwangi claimed that he and Agather were detained, tortured, and filmed by Tanzanian police during their stay in the country.
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