PRESS STATEMENT: Statement on the torture, assault, and sexual violence against East Africans Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaure

Nairobi, Tuesday 3rd June, 2025 – The Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group call on the East African Community and the international community to demand that the Government of Tanzania hold accountable the police officers and their commanding officers responsible for the torture, assault, and sexual assault committed against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire.

Yesterday, the two East African human rights defenders courageously testified to the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and torture they experienced in Dar es Salaam between 19 and 23 May 2025. They publicly detailed the deliberate inflicting of physical beating, sexual assault, verbal abuse and humiliation for the purpose of extracting information and punishment.

For four long days, they were denied medical treatment and access to their families or legal representatives. Rather than being brought to a court of law, they were kept in inhuman detention conditions. In their June 2 press conference, they named the arresting officers and described the stations involved.

Tanzania bears a duty under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) to protect all people against torture. Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are serious crimes under multiple treaties and international law. The Government of Tanzania must arrest and prosecute all officers suspected of responsibility for the human rights violations against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire and bring them to justice in a fair trial.

Article 6.2 of the Treaty establishing the East African Community binds Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and other partner states to “uphold principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, social justice and universally accepted standards of human rights.” We petition both Kenyan and Ugandan parliamentarians to summon their respective Foreign Affairs Ministers to account for the actions taken to protect their nationals and spell out the steps being taken to secure justice and compensation for the suffering and trauma experienced. The Police Reforms Working Group shall, with others, also formally petition Members of the East African Legislative Assembly to initiate a parliamentary public hearing. 

Through a brutal campaign against dissent, Tanzanian authorities have created a chilling climate of fear, silencing anyone who criticises President Samia Suluhu Hassan ahead of the October 2025 elections. Unless urgently addressed, this and the brutal treatment of Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire shall remain a stark indictment of violent repression and impunity under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government, and the East African Community’s silence will render it complicit.

Notes:

1. PRWG 21 May statement https://x.com/ReformsGroup/status/1925186840488776055

2. Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire 2 June press statement https://x.com/bonifacemwangi/status/1929584845836959758

This statement is signed by the Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group, an alliance of national and grassroots organizations committed to professional, accountable, and human rights-compliant policing. They include:  Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Katiba Institute, Defenders Coalition, Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW), Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), International Justice Mission (IJM-K), HAKI Africa, Amnesty International Kenya, Women Empowerment Link, Social Welfare Development Program (SOWED), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA- Kenya), International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ – Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, Shield For justice, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ) and Peace Brigades International Kenya (PBI Kenya).