A Ugandan human rights activist has alleged that she was raped while in detention in Tanzania, deepening concerns over the treatment of regional activists who had travelled to show solidarity with Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu.
Agather Atuhaire, a prominent rights advocate and head of the Uganda-based Agora Centre for Research, told the BBC that she was assaulted by plainclothes officers who blindfolded and violently stripped her during detention.
She said she was beaten, gagged, and sexually violated while being held incommunicado, alongside Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi.
Photographs taken after her release on Thursday show bruises and scars on her wrists.
Tanzanian authorities have yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
“The pain was too much,” Atuhaire told the BBC, showing a scar from what she said was caused by handcuffs.
She recounted hearing screams from Mwangi during their detention and said she was warned not to communicate with him, with any attempt to do so punished by further violence.
Mwangi has also spoken out, saying he and Atuhaire were tortured. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “We had been tortured, and we were told to strip naked and go bathe. We couldn’t walk and were told to crawl and go wash off the blood.”
Atuhaire and Mwangi had travelled to Tanzania to support Lissu, who was in court facing treason charges.
Although they were allowed into the country, they were arrested before attending the court hearing.
Their arrest came shortly after Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned on Monday that foreign activists would not be allowed to “meddle” in Tanzania’s affairs or incite “chaos”.
On Thursday night, Atuhaire was found abandoned at the Uganda-Tanzania border after being held since Monday.
Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Fred Mwesigye, said she had “safely returned home” and was “warmly received by her family.”
Mwangi, who was also released at the Kenyan border, said he heard Atuhaire “groaning in pain” during their detention and that they were later taken away in separate vehicles.
He said those holding them appeared to be following orders from a state security official who had told them to give him a “Tanzanian treatment.”
His disappearance prompted protests in Kenya from civil society and human rights organisations.
Kenya’s government lodged a formal protest on Wednesday, citing a lack of consular access despite multiple requests.
Kenya’s state-funded human rights body shared a photo of Mwangi safe at home on Thursday.
Meanwhile, regional rights organisations are demanding an independent investigation into the alleged abuse of both activists.
The Tanzanian government has remained silent on the allegations.