Is Tanzania Using Activist Detentions as Political Leverage?
Mwangi & Atuhaire Still Held Amid Regional Tensions
Prepared By Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | May 22, 2025
Kenya’s Boniface Mwangi and Uganda’s Agather Atuhaire remain in Tanzanian custody amid rising speculation of political leverage and cross-border repression.
In what is fast evolving into a regional flashpoint, Tanzania's continued detention of two high-profile East African activists — Kenyan photojournalist and civic icon Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer and media freedom advocate Agather Atuhaire — has triggered widespread alarm across civil society and diplomatic circles.
Both activists were detained in Dar es Salaam shortly after arriving to attend court proceedings for opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges widely regarded as politically motivated. While initial reports suggested they had been deported, the Tanzania Law Society (TLS) has confirmed that both individuals are still in custody — and notably, under the authority of the Immigration Department rather than the police.
What has caused even deeper concern is the emergence of speculation that Mwangi’s continued detention may be part of a strategy to gain leverage over an exiled Tanzanian activist currently residing in Nairobi — a highly influential critic of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. While such claims remain unverified, they raise important questions about Tanzania’s evolving internal security doctrine, its intelligence practices, and the extent to which political repression is extending beyond its borders.
This intelligence brief provides an in-depth analysis of the situation, examining timelines, strategic implications, regional risks, and possible forward-looking scenarios.