Lilian Nyiva
US Sanctions Senior Tanzanian Police Officer Over Alleged Torture of Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire
The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior Tanzanian police officer over alleged human rights violations involving Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire.
According to multiple international and regional media reports, the sanctions target Tanzanian Police Force Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele. The U.S. government accuses him of involvement in the detention, torture and sexual assault of the two activists during their stay in Tanzania in May 2025.
The sanctions were announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio under Section 7031(c) of the U.S. Department of State appropriations law, which allows the United States to bar foreign officials accused of gross human rights violations from entering the country.
In a statement quoted by several media outlets, Rubio said members of the Tanzanian police detained and tortured Mwangi and Atuhaire while they were in Dar es Salaam to observe the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Mwangi and Atuhaire had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with Lissu, who was facing treason charges at the time. Reports indicate that the two activists were arrested in May 2025, held incommunicado for several days and later dumped separately near the Kenyan and Ugandan borders after their release. Both later alleged that they had been tortured and sexually assaulted while in custody.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya, previously condemned the alleged abuse and called for investigations into the conduct of Tanzanian security officers.
The sanctions imposed by Washington effectively ban Mafwele from entering the United States. The move is being viewed as one of the strongest international responses yet to allegations of shrinking democratic space and repression of dissent in Tanzania ahead of recent elections.
The Tanzanian government had not publicly issued a detailed response to the U.S. sanctions at the time of publication. However, Tanzanian authorities have previously denied wrongdoing in relation to the detention of foreign activists.
Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan activist and former photojournalist, is widely known for his anti-corruption campaigns and civic activism across East Africa. Atuhaire is an award-winning Ugandan investigative journalist and human rights advocate known for exposing corruption and governance issues in Uganda.
