KAMPALA, Uganda — A Ugandan activist, Agather Atuhaire, who was detained for several days in Tanzania before being found abandoned at the border with Uganda, has told the BBC that she was raped while in custody.
Expanding on earlier statements from her rights group indicating “indications of torture,” Atuhaire alleged that individuals in plain clothes “blindfolded” her, subsequently hitting her, “violently” stripping her, and sexually assaulting her.
Atuhaire had been held incommunicado in Tanzania alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, who was found near the Kenyan border on Thursday.
The Tanzanian authorities have yet to issue a comment on the allegations.
Regional human rights organizations have called for a thorough investigation, and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Africa Affairs has expressed deep concern over reports of the activists’ mistreatment.
“The pain was too much,” Atuhaire told the BBC, showing a scar she attributed to handcuffs. She added that she was “screaming so hard” that her captors had to cover her mouth. Atuhaire recounted her alleged rape to the BBC in graphic detail.
She also reported hearing screams from Mwangi and stated that those holding him had threatened him with circumcision.
The pair had traveled to Tanzania to demonstrate solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who appeared in court on Monday facing treason charges.
Mwangi recounted his alleged experience in a post on X: “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.”
Despite being initially allowed entry into Tanzania, Mwangi and Atuhaire were denied attendance at Lissu’s hearing and were subsequently arrested.
On Monday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan had issued a warning against activists from neighboring countries “meddling” in Tanzania’s affairs and causing “chaos.”
Atuhaire was found abandoned at the border on Thursday night, having been in custody since Monday, according to the Agora Centre for Research, the Uganda-based rights group she leads, in a post on X.
Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Fred Mwesigye, stated that Atuhaire had “safely returned home” and was “warmly received by her family.”
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Mwangi, who was earlier found abandoned on a roadside in northern Tanzania near the Kenyan border, said he had heard Atuhaire “groaning in pain” when they were held together on Tuesday.
“Any attempt to speak to each other during the night we were tortured was met with kicks and insults. We were removed from the torture location in different vehicles,” Mwangi added.
He stated that their captors were receiving orders from a “state security” official who instructed that the activists be given “Tanzanian treatment.” Mwangi’s disappearance had triggered widespread concern in Kenya, with his family, civil society organizations, and human rights groups staging protests and demanding his release.
On Wednesday, the Kenyan government formally protested his detention, accusing Tanzanian authorities of denying consular access despite repeated requests. Earlier on Thursday, Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry issued a statement indicating its inability to access the activist.
Regional rights groups have called for a thorough investigation into the alleged mistreatment of the activists by Tanzanian authorities, urging all East African countries to uphold rights treaties.
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Africa Affairs expressed its deep concern regarding the reports of the two activists’ mistreatment, highlighting that Ms. Atuhaire had been recognized by the department “in 2024 as an International Women of Courage Awardee.”
“We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses. We urge all countries in the region to hold to account those responsible for violating human rights, including torture,” it tweeted.
