The Scoop
Two leading East African political activists who claim they were abducted and tortured by security agents in Tanzania are suing that country’s government and those of Kenya and Uganda for their alleged involvement.
Boniface Mwangi, a veteran Kenyan activist, and Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan human rights lawyer, have filed lawsuits at the East African Court of Justice, the East African Legislative Assembly, and the International Criminal Court for incidents that allegedly took place between May 19 and May 22. Both plaintiffs have previously stated publicly that they were subjected to various forms of sexual torture and physical intimidation at the hands of agents after being abducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital.
The rights activists were in Tanzania to show support for detained opposition politician Tundu Lissu, who was arrested in April and charged with treason after calling for electoral reforms ahead of general elections in October.
Tanzanian security authorities have denied the allegations by both Mwangi and Atuhaire.
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The first set of complaints have already been filed with the relevant UN authorities with a set of actual lawsuits to be filed at the national and regional level, according to the activists’ lawyer. The suits and complaints are targeted at the state governments and various holders of public offices specifically in Tanzania’s law enforcement force, who they claim “acted contrary to or neglected their mandate and duty of care to persons under their custody.”
Their lawyer told Semafor that the central focus was to seek justice and accountability and to “send a clear signal against the kind of impunity we have witnessed, across the region.”
While the alleged incidents took place in Tanzania, the suits also target the Kenyan and Ugandan governments. “I’m suing the Kenyan government for failing to protect me as their citizen,” Mwangi told Semafor. He said he informed the Kenyan ambassador to Tanzania of his arrest at the time. “I was abducted, tortured and they did nothing. Instead of fighting for me, my government apologized to the Tanzanian government for “our bad behaviour.”
Step Back
Mwangi told Semafor that he was taken away by nearly a dozen plain clothed security officers from the lobby of the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam on May 19. He said he was kept in custody at an undisclosed location for three days where he was handcuffed and blindfolded then beaten, verbally abused and sexually tortured with various implements. “I was stripped naked and tied upside down to a pole,” he said.
Mwangi said his abductors repeatedly demanded that he explain what he was doing in Tanzania and accused him of trying to cause trouble. He told Semafor that he was woken in the early hours of May 22 and driven to a roadside area where he was dumped near the southeastern Horohoro border with Kenya. He had been given some cash to use a bodaboda motorcycle taxi to get to the crossing point where he was able to re-enter the country.
When he met with Semafor in Nairobi in mid-June, Mwangi was walking with crutches and had both feet in braces, which he said was due to injuries from his ordeal. He said that re-telling his experience was “painful to share” and he had been warned not to attempt a return to Tanzania.
Notable
- Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu is set to represent himself in his treason trial after being denied the right to a private meeting with his lawyers.
- “Struggling to be alive” Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi shares about his “sexual torture” in Tanzania.