‘We Were Told to Strip, Crawl and Wash Off the Blood’: Boniface Mwangi Recounts Tanzanian Ordeal
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has revealed harrowing details of his recent detention in Tanzania, describing a brutal and degrading experience that he claims was personally overseen by security officials answering directly to President Samia Suluhu.
Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire were arrested on May 19 in Dar es Salaam while attending the trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu. What was meant to be a peaceful solidarity mission turned into a four-day nightmare.
“We had been tortured, and we were told to strip naked and to go bathe. We couldn’t walk and were told to crawl and go wash off the blood,” Mwangi said in a powerful statement. “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.”
According to Mwangi, the two were separated shortly after that moment and transported to unknown locations. He described being repeatedly kicked and insulted whenever he tried to speak to Agather.
He alleges that the torture was led by a Tanzanian state security officer who first trailed them from immigration offices to Central Police Station. The officer, whom Mwangi described in detail—including his appearance and attire—allegedly orchestrated their transfer to a secret site for what he called “Tanzanian treatment.”
The experience, Mwangi said, was nothing short of a state-sanctioned campaign of abuse.
In his first public statement after being dumped in Ukunda, Kenya, Mwangi stated: “You cannot torture us and then dictate how we should react. We were detained, tortured, and treated worse than rabid dogs in the name of President Suluhu.”
His statement was a rallying cry for activists across Africa to stand united: “Dictators are united, and only our own unity can help democratize our respective countries.”
Mwangi also took a moment to express gratitude: “Words can’t express my gratitude to all of you for raising your voices to get me released. I say ‘me’ because we are yet to know the whereabouts of my friend and comrade, Agather.”
Shortly after, news broke that Atuhaire had been found at the Mutukula border, severely injured and disoriented. Her family confirmed her location, but she has yet to speak publicly about her experience.
The arrests, widely viewed as political intimidation, have drawn condemnation from regional and international human rights organisations. President Suluhu’s administration has been accused of shrinking civic space and using state power to silence dissent.
Mwangi reminded the world of his Pan-African credentials, citing his past support for fellow activists across the continent. Quoting Ghanaian icon Kwame Nkrumah, he said: “I’m not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.”
As the international spotlight grows on Tanzania’s government, the fate of the two activists has become a symbol of the ongoing struggle for political freedoms across Africa. Mwangi insists that he and others will not be silenced.
“We shall speak for the Tanzanian victims who are too afraid to speak,” he said. “What Suluhu did to us will be revealed to the world.”
In other news:Agather Atuhaire Found at Border in Critical Condition After Detention in Tanzania
‘We Were Told to Strip, Crawl and Wash Off the Blood’: Boniface Mwangi Recounts Tanzanian Ordeal