Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has sounded the alarm over the disappearance of Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire, last seen on Tuesday morning while they were both detained in Tanzania.
In a disturbing testimony, Mwangi recounted the inhumane treatment they faced, alleging they were tortured by individuals claiming to act on behalf of Tanzanian state security. He revealed that after the abuse, they were forced to strip naked and crawl to a bathing area, despite being injured and in severe pain.
“We were bloodied and barely able to move, yet they forced us to crawl for a bath while handcuffed and blindfolded,” Mwangi recalled. “I heard Agather groaning in pain as they shouted at us.”
He said any attempt to speak during the night resulted in beatings and verbal threats. Later, the two were separated and taken away in different vehicles.
Mwangi claims the brutal treatment was ordered by a man identifying as a state security agent, who had earlier appeared at immigration offices and later at the Central Police Station. This individual allegedly directed that the pair be transferred to a secret location for what he called “Tanzanian treatment.”
Mwangi described the man as light-skinned, overweight, with short wavy hair, a potbelly, and dressed in a black suit and white shirt. He reportedly assaulted Mwangi in front of three lawyers from the Tanganyika Law Society, who were too intimidated to intervene.
Following the ordeal, Mwangi was deported to Kenya by road on Thursday and abandoned in Ukunda, Kwale County. He was immediately taken to a hospital in Diani, where doctors confirmed visible injuries and frailty.
He is now calling for urgent efforts to trace Atuhaire and bring her home safely, holding the Tanzanian authorities accountable for her disappearance.
“We must bring Agather back to her family,” he urged.
