A human rights group is demanding the release of activist Boniface Mwangi, who has been missing for some days now.
Through its CEO, Hussein Khalid, VOCAL Africa raised concern over the whereabouts of Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer and journalist Agatha Atuhaire, who are said to have been apprehended by Tanzanian authorities.
Khalid said both are still missing despite reports they had been deported from Tanzania on May 20.
According to Khalid, efforts to trace the two in Dar es Salaam have failed. He said they had checked with all airlines and followed up with lawyers in Tanzania, but are still unable to trace the duo.
“Boniface Mwangi and Agatha Atuhaire are missing. After trying all connections in Dar es Salaam, we have not been able to confirm the whereabouts of Boniface Mwangi and Agatha Atuhaire. We have checked all airlines and exhausted follow-ups with lawyers in Tanzania, but they remain missing,” Khalid said in his statement.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, on May 21, Khalid said that after contacting the human rights defenders in Tanzania, their whereabouts remain unknown.
Khalid demanded that the Tanzanian government immediately release the two back to their countries without delay.
"We have searched with fellow human rights defenders and lawyers in Tanzania, but to no avail. Let it be known that Kenyans will hold (President) Suluhu Hassan personally responsible should anything happen to the two. We further demand the immediate return of the two to their countries without further delays," he added
Earlier on May 20, Boniface Mwabukusi, the President of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), announced that the Tanzanian government had deported Mwangi and Atuhaire.
In a statement, Mwabukusi said the two had been deported under the supervision of Tanzanian immigration officers.
"Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan journalist and human rights activist, and Ms Agatha Atuhaire, a Ugandan journalist and advocate, who were detained at the Central Police Station in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, since 19th May 2025, have been deported to their respective countries," Mwabukusi said.
Mwangi, who arrived in Tanzania on Sunday to attend the opposition leader Tundu Lissu's trial the following day, was arrested on Monday, May 19, in his hotel after Tanzanian authorities claimed that he had obtained entry into the country irregularly.
Mwabukusi stressed the need for East African countries to adhere to the East African Community Treaty and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.
"It is alleged that Mr Mwangi was arrested on the grounds of providing false information for purposes of entry into the territory, having arrived in Tanzania on 18th May 2025," the TLS head said.
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