KAMPALA, Uganda — A Ugandan activist alleged over the weekend that she was subjected to sexual violence and torture by Tanzanian security agents during her detention in a secret facility, before being found abandoned near the Uganda-Tanzania border. The disturbing account by Agather Atuhaire, made public on Saturday, has intensified calls from human rights organizations for an immediate and independent investigation into the claims.
Atuhaire, who heads Uganda’s Agora Centre for Research, had traveled to Tanzania last week with Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi to observe a court hearing for Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Both were detained, with Atuhaire describing to the BBC being blindfolded, stripped, sexually assaulted, and beaten by men in civilian clothing. “The pain was too much,” she recounted, showing a wrist scar she said resulted from handcuffs. “I was screaming so hard they had to cover my mouth.”
Mwangi, who was also found abandoned near the Kenyan border, has separately alleged torture and threats of forced circumcision. He posted on social media that after being tortured, they “were told to strip naked and to go bathe. We couldn’t walk and were told to crawl and go wash off the blood.”
The activists were reportedly held incommunicado after being denied entry to the court session. Atuhaire was located at the border Thursday night, four days after her detention, according to the Agora Centre.
As of Monday, Tanzanian officials had not publicly addressed the grave allegations. However, regional human rights groups and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs have strongly condemned the alleged mistreatment and demanded a full investigation. The U.S. bureau specifically called for “all countries in the region to hold to account those responsible for violating human rights, including torture.”
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously protested Tanzanian authorities’ denial of consular access to Mwangi during his detention. Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Fred Mwesigye, confirmed Atuhaire’s return home, stating she was “warmly received by her family.”
The incident follows a recent public warning by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan that foreign activists would not be permitted to “meddle” in the country’s internal matters or incite “chaos.”