Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi recounted how he was tortured and sexually assaulted at the hands of Tanzanian authorities during a press conference in Nairobi on June 2, 2025, following his detention in Dar es Salaam last month.
Mwangi, a prominent advocate for social justice, described severe physical and psychological abuse, including sodomy, while detained alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire.
Mwangi, visibly emotional, spoke to journalists about the traumatic experience that left him with physical injuries and an unbroken resolve to continue his activism.
“I have broken toes, I have wounds,” Mwangi said, detailing the physical toll of his detention. “The only thing that can stop me from being an activist is death.”
Mwangi and Atuhaire were arrested on May 19, 2025, while in Tanzania to observe the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Boniface Mwangi on Being Sodomized
Mwangi said they were taken to an undisclosed location where the abuse occurred. “They took us to a building, where they tortured us,” he said. “They handcuffed me, blindfolded me, and told me to strip naked.”
He described a brutal sequence of events involving multiple assailants. “I was grabbed by about four men and lifted me up.
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They had gloves on their hands,” Mwangi recounted. “They tied me upside down, they started beating my feet, and I was screaming.” He said the assailants interrogated him while inflicting pain. “They started questioning me,” he added, before revealing the extent of the sexual violence: “They put lubricant in my rectum and started inserting objects.”
Mwangi’s account aligns with reports from human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which condemned the “unimaginable cruelty” inflicted on the activists and called for an investigation into their arbitrary arrest, torture, and deportation.
Mwangi’s wife, Njeri Mwangi, and fellow activist Hussein Khalid corroborated his frail condition upon release.
Fight for Justice
Mwangi was found abandoned at the Horohoro border post on May 22, barely able to walk, and was airlifted to Nairobi for medical treatment.
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Atuhaire was also later located near the Tanzania-Uganda border on May 23.
Just days after Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan Activist Agather Atuahaire were detained and reportedly tortured in Tanzania, the United States government has broken its silence over the matter.
In a statement through the Bureau of African Affairs, the United States has called for an immediate investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses.
“The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists – Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi. Atuhaire was recognized by state department an International Women of Courage Awardee in 2024. We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses,” part of the statement read
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