The jury behind the 2024 Human Rights Award has demanded the urgent release of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer Agatha Atuhaire, who were arrested by Tanzanian authorities from their hotel rooms earlier this week.
The jury expressed grave concern about the activists’ safety, stating that their current whereabouts remain unknown following their arrest. Initial reports indicated that the two were detained at Dar es Salaam’s Central Police Station, but no further updates have been given.
According to a joint statement released Wednesday evening, Tanzanian officials had informed regional legal and human rights groups — including the Tanganyika Law Society, the East Africa Law Society, and the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition — that Mwangi and Atuhaire would be deported by Monday. However, this has not happened.
“We strongly condemn the continued detention of these human rights defenders,” the jury stated. “We urge Tanzanian authorities to respect their rights under domestic and international laws, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The jury includes prominent figures such as former Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, activists Rachael Mwikali, Andrew Maina, Njeri Kabeberi, Ikal Ang’elei, Kamanda Mucheke, Grace Lolim, and cartoonist Gado (Geoffrey Mwampembwa).
Mwangi was recently named the 2024 Human Rights Defender of the Year alongside Hanifa Adan and Hussein Khalid.
Led by Kamau Ngugi of the Defenders Coalition, the group criticized the Tanzanian government for ignoring multiple appeals for the duo’s release. “We will continue to stand firm in our demand for the respect of human dignity and fundamental freedoms,” Ngugi stated.
Mwangi and Atuhaire were arrested on May 19, 2025, at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam by individuals identifying themselves as police officers. They were in the country to observe the ongoing treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Their families report that they still have no information on their condition or location.
The incident follows a broader crackdown, with several other prominent human rights observers — including Martha Karua, Willy Mutunga, Hussein Khalid, Hanifa Adan, and lawyers Gloria Kimani and Lynn Ngugi — being denied entry into Tanzania at Julius Nyerere International Airport.
These individuals were also set to monitor the trial of Lissu, signaling what many fear is a deliberate effort to restrict scrutiny of the legal proceedings.
