Activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire Seek Sh129 Million Each In Regional Court Case Over Tanzania Torture

NAIROBI, Kenya – Prominent human rights activists Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Agather Atuhaire of Uganda have filed a major lawsuit at the East African Court of Justice demanding $1,000,000 (approx Ksh129 million) each in compensation after alleging torture and illegal deportation by Tanzanian authorities in May 2025.

The case, filed alongside seven regional civil society organizations, accuses Tanzania of orchestrating their abduction, torture, unlawful detention and deportation while holding Kenya and Uganda responsible for failing to protect their citizens and uphold regional laws.

According to court documents, the two activists had lawfully traveled to Tanzania to observe the treason trial of opposition leader and lawyer Tundu Lissu when they were abducted by unknown individuals from their hotel in Dar es Salaam between May 19 and 23, 2025.

The activists allege they were first taken to the Immigration Department and Central Police Station before being removed without legal explanation to an unknown location where they were subjected to physical and psychological torture, including sexual violence.

They were later dumped across borders, with Atuhaire returned to Uganda and Mwangi to Kenya.

“When a state goes rogue, the law must step in to protect its victims. What happened to us was evil, and was meant to silence us, but we refused to be silenced,” Mwangi said, adding that the case aims to give other victims of state brutality courage to seek justice.

The lawsuit names the Attorneys General of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, as well as the Secretary General of the East African Community as respondents.

The applicants argue that despite wide media coverage of their disappearance, both Kenyan and Ugandan governments failed to take meaningful action to secure their release or hold Tanzanian authorities accountable.

The activists claim the actions violate the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other binding regional and international legal instruments.

Beyond the Sh129 million compensation for each victim, the applicants are demanding public apologies from the three governments, rehabilitation and psychosocial support, formal condemnation by the EAC Secretary General, institutional reforms to prevent similar abuses, and a special summit of EAC Heads of State to discuss regional peace, justice and governance.

David Sigano, CEO of the East Africa Law Society, said the violations strike at the core of regional values. “No citizen should be tortured, disappeared, or deported simply for observing a court trial. The East African Court of Justice must rise to the occasion,” he stated.

Donald Deya, CEO of the Pan African Lawyers Union, described the case as defending the soul of East Africa and its principles of human dignity, regional integration, and rule of law.

The applicants say the case serves as a warning to regional governments that human rights violations will not go without consequences, with the court’s response measuring the EAC’s commitment to justice and the rule of law.