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Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Elizabeth Shackelford: East African governments turn up repression as the United States turns away
I met Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan human rights defender, in late May at the Oslo Freedom Forum, an event celebrating activists against authoritarianism. She was petite but powerful, bruised but not broken. Traveling to this event was her latest act of defiance. Only days earlier, she and Boniface Mwangi, a high-profile Kenyan activist, had been dumped near the Tanzanian border after being detained and tortured for days by Tanzanian police when they tried to attend the trial of Tanzania's main opposition leader. The abuse was excruciating. They recounted being stripped, hung by their bound feet and hands, brutally raped and beaten. The entire sick process was recorded to elicit shame and more fear. I spent years working in East Africa, so I'm familiar with its explosive politics and the authoritarian tendencies of those clinging to power. But this felt like something new. Atuhaire received the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award just last year. Where was the outrage? Once, the U.S. government used its influence to prevent these abuses. Now, Washington is practically silent. Repression has been on the rise across the region. When governments stop trying to hide or temper their abuse, the dangers escalate. Cross-country cooperation in governmental repression is ticking up too. Tundu Lissu, the politician Atuhaire and Mwangi were in Tanzania to support, was arrested in April and charged with treason after spearheading a campaign ahead of Tanzania's upcoming elections. Tundu was fighting for reforms to unrig a system that has enabled the ruling party to win every election since independence. Several other critics of the Tanzanian government have been abducted over the last year. One opposition party official was killed after being taken from a bus in September. His body was later found soaked in acid and beaten. Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a prominent Tanzanian activist, was abducted in January in Nairobi, Kenya, where she had been living since seeking asylum there in 2020 because of threats from the Tanzanian government. After a few hours of assaulting her as they tried to gain access to her phone and social media, Tsehai's abductors dumped her on a side road. Tsehai was also in Oslo and told me she was certain the Tanzanian and Kenyan authorities were working together to repress their citizens, so nowhere was safe now. In November, Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye and his aide were also abducted in Nairobi, only to emerge four days later in military court in Kampala, Uganda. Kenyan authorities have since admitted to cooperating in the kidnapping. These are just some of the hundreds of civilian opposition actors to face military courts in Uganda, even though the country's supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional. Yoweri Museveni has ruled the country since 1986. His son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is the chief of Uganda's Defense Forces and recently bragged on social media of capturing an opposition leader, holding him captive in his basement, and torturing him. Perhaps the Kenyan government has become more amenable to facilitating repression in the region since it's upped its own at home. Last June, Kenya saw a wave of antigovernment protests led by Kenya's youth. Kenyan police killed dozens in their aggressive response. Waves of protests continued throughout the year, and in the final weeks of 2024, at least 10 young activists were abducted. As a former U.S. diplomat, I expected more of an American response to these events. It wouldn't prevent all the abuses, but it would have mattered. Activists I've spoken with have assured me, for example, that the abuse of Mwangi and Atuhaire wouldn't have occurred under prior U.S. administrations (even Donald Trump's first administration), since the Tanzanian government would have anticipated consequences. The United States has provided these countries with military assistance and development and humanitarian support for many years. But America has a very different relationship with the region today. Though some advocates in Congress continue to speak up, the Trump administration has made clear that it will not use its influence to fight human rights abuses. Not only has it gutted foreign assistance, which could previously be used as an incentive for better behavior, but it also has explicitly stepped back from promoting human rights at all. The weight of America's moral leadership has been weakening for years, but it is now wholly broken. And the consequences, on individuals and democracy movements across the globe, are real and likely to worsen. You may think it isn't America's business to promote human rights internationally, but it was never much of an investment. Prior to the Trump administration's draconian cuts, the entire foreign aid budget amounted to less than 1% of the country's expenditures, and only 3.2% of that went to democracy, governance and human rights programs. But by using our diplomats and assistance to impose even a small cost for the worst repression, we once helped protect and uplift those fighting for values we used to hold dear. What will we gain by not doing so? Nothing, but it will cost others plenty.
DW
03-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Kenyan, Ugandan activists allege sexual torture in Tanzania – DW – 06/03/2025
Human rights activists from Kenya and Uganda who were detained in Tanzania said security forces there sexually assaulted them while they were in custody. Human rights defenders Boniface Mwangi from Kenya and Uganda's Agather Atuhaire have said that they were beaten and sexually assaulted by Tanzanian security officers while in custody. Mwangi and Atuhaire made the allegations at a joint press conference in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Monday. Both had separately spoken of their brutal treatment in the days after their release. The two had traveled to Tanzania attend the first court appearance on May 19, 2025, of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges. They were abducted from their hotel room and allege they were interrogated and tortured by security officers before being dumped several days later near the borders of their countries. Speaking at the press conference, they said they had both filed a complaint against the Tanzanian authorities. 'What they did to us, it breaks me' Mwangi, a photojournalist and prominent campaigner against corruption and police brutality in Kenya, broke down in tears as he recounted the brutal beatings and the sexual assault. He was stripped naked, he said, hung upside down and beaten on his feet. "They would put objects in my anus and then say, 'say you're feeling nice, say you're feeling good'," Mwangi said, addressing a press conference alongside Atuhaire. Officers told him that they filmed everything and to never speak of what happened, otherwise they would release the footage, he said. "And what they did to us is, it breaks me. ... We're here to share our story, and to say that our bodies may be broken, but our spirit is strong," Mwangi added. No shame, rather 'desire for justice' Atuhaire said she too had been blindfolded, tied up and similarly assaulted. "The only thing I desire is justice," the award-winning journalist said. "It is what has enabled me to hold on in this situation." Although she came from Uganda, a country she described as "very dictatorial," she never imagined that she "would find a worse foreign country, a worse government." "You cannot be the head of state, the president, yet publicly and shamelessly condone torture, sexual violence," said Atuhaire. On the day of the abductions, President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged security services "not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here". Atuhaire, who won the EU Human Rights Defenders' Award in 2023 and an International Women of Courage Award from the United States in 2024, has previously said that she refused silenced by the shame of being a victim of sexual assault. "You are the one who is committing a heinous crime, so you are the one who should be ashamed," Atuhaire told the AFP news agency in May. Ugandan social justice activist Agather Atuhaire (center) received an International Woman of Courage award in 2024. She stands with then first lady Jill Biden (left) and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) Image: Susan Walsh/AP Photo/picture alliance No comment from Tanzania's government Spokespeople for Tanzania's government, Foreign Affairs Ministry and police did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the allegations, the news agency said on Monday evening. AFP also said it attempted to reach the Tanzanian government for comment, but there was no immediate response. The case has highlighted a growing repression of political dissent in Tanzania, criticized by a wide range of bodies and organizations, including Amnesty International and the European Parliament . Tanzania's intolerance of transnational activism To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Oppposition leader Lissu, Hassan's main political rival, was arrested in April and charged with treason. His Chadema party has been disqualified from running in October's presidential and legislative elections. Hassan's ruling party has nominated her as their candidate in October's election. Tanzania has been ruled by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party since independence in 1961. Edited by: Zac Crellin
Int'l Business Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Sexually Assaulted And Smeared In Excrement: Uganda Activist Details Torture In Tanzania
Stripped naked, beaten until she could no longer walk, sexually assaulted and covered in excrement: award-winning Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire told AFP of the torture she suffered at the hands of security forces in Tanzania this week. Atuhaire, who won an International Women of Courage Award from the United States last year, was arrested on Monday in Tanzania's business hub Dar es Salaam. She had travelled there to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty, ahead of elections in October. Atuhaire was abandoned early Friday by Tanzanian agents near the Ugandan border after a brutal ordeal, she said. "What happened in Tanzania stays in Tanzania," she said she was told. "We have videos of you." Atuhaire was arrested along with Boniface Mwangi, a well-known rights activist from Kenya who also wanted to attend the trial. Police told her: "Whites are sending you to destabilise our country," she told AFP in an interview in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Friday. After being interrogated, Atuhaire and Mwangi were blindfolded and driven to an unknown location. There, they took Mwangi out of the car and began beating him. "He was screaming," said Atuhaire, adding that the agents had played gospel songs on the car radio, apparently trying to muffle the sound. She says she was stripped naked, her hands cuffed to her ankles. She has injuries on her forearms and legs. One of the Tanzanian officers then hit the soles of her feet "with all his might", while another inserted an object into her anus, she said. "I had never known pain like that existed," she said. "I don't remember which pain was worse," she added. "After that beating, I scream, I scream." Then they smeared her body with excrement, she said. The whole scene was filmed -- "to humiliate, instil fear but also silence you", she said. "They are used to sexual abuse being something a victim is ashamed of. (But) I am not that victim... I am not the one who should be ashamed. You are the one who is committing a heinous crime, so you are the one who should be ashamed," Atuhaire said. The US State Department said Saturday it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of mistreatment of Atuhaire and Mwangi, calling for "an immediate and full investigation". Amnesty International also said the "torture and forcible deportation" of Mwangi and Atuhaire must be "urgently investigated". AFP attempted to reach the Tanzanian government for comment, but there was no immediate response. Atuhaire, a lawyer and journalist, is a fierce critic of the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for almost 40 years. Her work in exposing corruption as head of the Agora Centre for Research has earned her international recognition. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said Monday foreign activists were attempting to "intrude and interfere" in the country's affairs. She urged the security services "not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here". Rights groups accuse Hassan of a brutal crackdown on the opposition ahead of the October elections. Lissu's Chadema party has been banned from taking part after refusing to sign an electoral "code of conduct" without significant reforms. The day after Hassan warned foreign activists, Atuhaire was still in detention and "couldn't step on the floor" due to the beatings on her feet, she said. "The pain was unimaginable," she said, but her captors forced her to "get up and exercise". In the following days, until her release, she says she was kept blindfolded, living in fear of what might happen next. "We were both treated worse than dogs, chained, blindfolded and underwent a very gruesome torture," said Mwangi, struggling to walk, after he was released and had returned to the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday. "The situation in Tanzania is very bad. I think what happened to us is what happens to all Tanzanian activists," he said. Atuhaire says she will file a complaint against Tanzania for the torture she suffered. "For me, the need for justice supersedes anything, any feeling of shame, which I don't even feel," she told AFP. "Of course it is difficult. I have physical pain. I am sure after that I'll deal with mental psychological pain. But I will not give anyone, any of these murderers, criminal organisations that we have as governments, the pleasure" of seeing her broken, she said. Atuhaire says she was beaten on the feet and sexually assaulted AFP Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi says he was detained and tortured alongside Atuhaire AFP
France 24
24-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Sexually assaulted and smeared in excrement: Uganda activist details torture in Tanzania
Atuhaire, who won an International Women of Courage Award from the United States last year, was arrested on Monday in Tanzania's business hub Dar es Salaam. She had travelled there to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty, ahead of elections in October. Atuhaire was abandoned early Friday by Tanzanian agents near the Ugandan border after a brutal ordeal, she said. "What happened in Tanzania stays in Tanzania," she said she was told. "We have videos of you." Atuhaire was arrested along with Boniface Mwangi, a well-known rights activist from Kenya who also wanted to attend the trial. Police told her: "Whites are sending you to destabilise our country," she told AFP in an interview in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Friday. After being interrogated, Atuhaire and Mwangi were blindfolded and driven to an unknown location. There, they took Mwangi out of the car and began beating him. "He was screaming," said Atuhaire, adding that the agents had played gospel songs on the car radio, apparently trying to muffle the sound. She says she was stripped naked, her hands cuffed to her ankles. She has injuries on her forearms and legs. One of the Tanzanian officers then hit the soles of her feet "with all his might", while another inserted an object into her anus, she said. "I had never known pain like that existed," she said. "I don't remember which pain was worse," she added. "After that beating, I scream, I scream." Then they smeared her body with excrement, she said. The whole scene was filmed -- "to humiliate, instil fear but also silence you", she said. "They are used to sexual abuse being something a victim is ashamed of. (But) I am not that victim... I am not the one who should be ashamed. You are the one who is committing a heinous crime, so you are the one who should be ashamed," Atuhaire said. The US State Department said Saturday it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of mistreatment of Atuhaire and Mwangi, calling for "an immediate and full investigation". Amnesty International also said the "torture and forcible deportation" of Mwangi and Atuhaire must be "urgently investigated". AFP attempted to reach the Tanzanian government for comment, but there was no immediate response. 'Pain was unimaginable' Atuhaire, a lawyer and journalist, is a fierce critic of the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for almost 40 years. Her work in exposing corruption as head of the Agora Centre for Research has earned her international recognition. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said Monday foreign activists were attempting to "intrude and interfere" in the country's affairs. She urged the security services "not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here". Rights groups accuse Hassan of a brutal crackdown on the opposition ahead of the October elections. Lissu's Chadema party has been banned from taking part after refusing to sign an electoral "code of conduct" without significant reforms. The day after Hassan warned foreign activists, Atuhaire was still in detention and "couldn't step on the floor" due to the beatings on her feet, she said. "The pain was unimaginable," she said, but her captors forced her to "get up and exercise". In the following days, until her release, she says she was kept blindfolded, living in fear of what might happen next. "We were both treated worse than dogs, chained, blindfolded and underwent a very gruesome torture," said Mwangi, struggling to walk, after he was released and had returned to the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday. "The situation in Tanzania is very bad. I think what happened to us is what happens to all Tanzanian activists," he said. Atuhaire says she will file a complaint against Tanzania for the torture she suffered. "For me, the need for justice supersedes anything, any feeling of shame, which I don't even feel," she told AFP. "Of course it is difficult. I have physical pain. I am sure after that I'll deal with mental psychological pain. But I will not give anyone, any of these murderers, criminal organisations that we have as governments, the pleasure" of seeing her broken, she said. burs-jf/er/rbu/jhb © 2025 AFP
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
US 'deeply concerned' over activists' treatment in Tanzania
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan (AP) NAIROBI: The United States expressed concern Saturday over the "mistreatment" of two east African activists in Tanzania, days after they were detained and reportedly tortured. Prominent campaigners Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Agather Atuhaire of Uganda travelled to Tanzania this week in solidarity with detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu ahead of his court hearing on charges of treason, which carries a potential death penalty. But they themselves were detained before being deported and then found abandoned near the Tanzanian border. Mwangi and rights groups allege that both were tortured while held "incommunicado" for days. The US Bureau of African Affairs said on X it was "deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment" of Atuhaire and Mwangi while in Tanzania. "We call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses," it said, urging "all countries in the region to hold to account those responsible for violating human rights, including torture". Atuhaire received in 2023 the EU Human Rights Defender Award for her work in Uganda and was honoured last year with the International Women of Courage Award by former US First Lady Jill Biden. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 축하드립니다! 임플란트 5월 할인 이벤트에 선정되셨습니다. 플란치과 더 알아보기 Undo Mwangi is a longtime critic of the Kenyan government, frequently denouncing instances of alleged injustice and rights abuses. Human rights groups say Tanzania and neighbouring Uganda have accelerated crackdowns on opponents and dissidents as they prepare for presidential elections in the next seven months. But Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has slammed what she called interference in the country's affairs and had urged security services "not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here".
