In a harrowing and deeply disturbing account, renowned Kenyan activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi has accused Tanzanian security forces of abducting, torturing, and sexually assaulting him during a visit to Dar es Salaam in May 2025.
Mwangi, who had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu—then facing what he called trumped-up treason charges—says he was subjected to unspeakable violence at the hands of police and state security agents. His alleged crime: standing up for democracy.
Adressing the members of thr press today in Nairobi, an emotionally disturbed Mwangi claims that he legally entered Tanzania as part of a Pan-African solidarity delegation, along with several other activists and dignitaries, including Martha Karua and Lynn Ngugi, who were later deported. He checked into the Serena Hotel on May 18, but by midnight, his nightmare had begun. A group of men claiming to be police officers tried to forcibly enter his room. When he refused, fearing abduction, he posted on social media, alerting the world that his life was in danger.
Hours later, despite the presence of a lawyer, Mwangi was bundled away by immigration officials. What followed was a series of interrogations, threats, and eventually, physical violence. “I was beaten in front of lawyers, called a ‘prisoner,’ and accused of burning Kenya’s Parliament and being part of a criminal gang,” he said.
But the most horrifying part of Mwangi’s account came after he and fellow activist Agather were taken to a secret location in a white Land Cruiser. Blindfolded, handcuffed, stripped naked, and tied upside down to a metal pole, Mwangi says he endured hours of torture that left both internal and external wounds.
He alleges that Tanzanian officers beat the soles of his feet with wooden planks, played loud gospel music to drown out his screams, and subjected him to degrading and violent sexual assault. “They applied lubricant and started shoving objects into my anus. They laughed, took photos, and filmed the entire ordeal,” he recounts. “They made me wiggle my waist and shout ‘Asante Mama Samia’ while they violated me.”
The human rights activists implicates Tanzanian security forces under the alleged command of officers known for extrajudicial killings and torture, including Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele. The ordeal took place while Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan publicly warned against foreign activists “disrupting peace.”
“They told me if I ever spoke about it, they would release the videos. But we will not be silenced,” Mwangi declared, adding that Agather also suffered rape and beatings at the hands of the same agents.
His story, now going viral, has sent shockwaves across East Africa. Human rights groups are demanding an immediate and independent investigation, while critics warn that the East African Community risks turning into a political club for tyrants unless member states confront the abuse of cross-border freedoms.
Mwangi’s defiance, even in the face of such brutal violations, underscores a chilling truth: the price of dissent in some parts of East Africa is still paid in blood, pain, and silence.
