Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault
A Ugandan activist who was arrested and held for days in Tanzania and later found at the border between the two countries has told the BBC that she was raped while in detention.
Expanding on the earlier remarks of her rights group who said she showed “indications of torture”, Agather Atuhaire alleged that people dressed in plain clothes “blindfolded” her, after which she was hit, “violently” stripped and sexually assaulted.
Atuhaire had been held incommunicado in Tanzania alongside fellow Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, who was on Thursday found at the border with his home country.
The Tanzanian authorities have not commented.
Regional rights groups have called for an investigation and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Africa Affairs said it was deeply concerned by the reports of the two activists’ mistreatment.
“The pain was too much,” said Atuhaire, showing the BBC a scar from where she said she had been handcuffed.
She added that she was “screaming so hard” that they had to cover her mouth.
Atuhaire told the BBC about her alleged rape in graphic detail.
She said she also heard screams from Mwangi, and that those holding him had threatened to circumcise him.
The pair had gone to Tanzania to show solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who appeared in court on Monday after being charged with treason
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 allowed into the country, Mwangi and Atuhaire were not permitted to attend the hearing and were arrested.
On Monday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan had warned that she would not allow activists from neighbouring countries to “meddle” in her country’s affairs and cause “chaos”.
Atuhaire was found abandoned at the border on Thursday night after being held in custody since Monday, Agora Centre for Research, the Uganda-based rights group that she leads, posted on X.
Uganda’s high commissioner to Tanzania Fred Mwesigye said Atuhaire had “safely returned home” and had been “warmly received by her family”.
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 said those who were holding them were getting orders from a “state security” official, who directed the activist to be given a “Tanzanian treatment”.
Mwangi’s disappearance had sparked widespread concern across Kenya, with his family, civil society and human rights groups staging protests and demanding his release.
On Wednesday, the Kenyan government formally protested against his detention, accusing the Tanzanian authorities of denying consular access despite repeated requests.
Earlier on Thursday, Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry issued a statement saying it had not been able to access the activist.
Regional rights groups have called for an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of the activists by the Tanzanian authorities and urged all East African countries to uphold rights treaties.
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Africa Affairs said it was deeply concerned by the reports of the two activists’ mistreatment, noting that Ms Atuhaire had been recognised 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.
Additional reporting by Basillioh Rukanga in Nairobi
