Ugandan activist and journalist Agather Atuhaire has spoken for the first time since she was found dumped at the Ugandan border with Tanzania in Mutukula on Friday, May 23, 2025.
In a statement on Saturday, May 24, 2025, Agather recounted the experience at the hands of Tanzanian authorities, observing that together with Boniface Mwangi, they were lucky to be alive.
“Good people, I have no words to thank you for your support, concern, and love. I am not okay, but what a relief to be alive and back home! I still can’t believe Boniface Mwangi and I made it out alive,” Agather remarked.
Picked up from hotel
Agather was arrested and detained by Tanzanian authorities on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, after being picked up by the officers in her hotel room alongside Mwangi.
While the two activists were allowed into the country, they did not attend the court session of the detained Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
“When five mean-looking men and one woman pushed us into a very dark car, where I almost sat on guns, and very violently blindfolded us and drove off, I thought it was over! Anyway, I will say more later,” Agather recounted in her statement.
1,500km away
The activist indicated that she was resting following the ordeal, which saw him dumped close to 1,500 Kilometres away from Dar es Salaam, where she was booked into a hotel ahead of the court session.
Her counterpart, Mwangi, revealed that they were tortured together before being separated. Mwangi was dumped 400 kilometres away at the Horohoro border of Tanzania and Kenya, from where he found well-wishers who facilitated his travel to Mombasa.
He was airlifted to Nairobi upon arrival in Mombasa and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.
In a statement, Tanzania President Samia Suluhu warned that her country would not entertain individuals coming to breach peace.
“We have started seeing a trend where some activists from our neighbouring countries are trying to meddle in our business. If they have been contained in their country, let them not try to come to ruin our peace,” Suluhu noted.
The United States has since called for investigations into the reported torture of the activists, demanding action on the perpetrators and their enablers.
“The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists – Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi,” The United States Bureau of African Affairs noted in a statement on Friday, May 23, 2025.
“We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses.”
