Boniface Mwangi: Video Emerge of Activist in Sorry State after Detention in Tanzania
- Activist Boniface Mwangi was found on the Kenya-Tanzania border on Thursday, days after being detained in Tanzania
- He is reported to have been driven to the location from Dar es Salaam, where he was arrested on Sunday, May 18
- The activist was reported to have been tortured by the Tanzanian police; he seemed to be in a worrying state of health
Activist Boniface Mwangi was found in Kwale county after days of going missing.
Source: Twitter
The activist had been arrested and detained in Tanzania.
Mwangi was to join others in Dar es Salaam, where Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu was to be arraigned.
What tribulations did Boniface Mwangi face?
He could not leave his hotel as police surrounded it seeking to arrest him.
Despite his efforts to evade arrest, Mwangi was picked up by the officers, who left with him for an unknown location.
His whereabouts sparked rage among Kenyans and other activists who took to social media to make demands to the authorities in Dodoma.
It took the intervention of Kenya's Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Ministry to have him released.
Mwangi was found abandoned in Ukunda and in a sorry state of health.
His associates claimed he had been tortured and could not walk.
Videos would later emerge showing them being helped to get into a vehicle to be airlifted.
"I've been tortured very badly, I can barely walk. But I'm very concerned about Agatha because we were tortured together and they did very horrible things to us, so I hope that Agatha is safe. So wherever Agatha is, you should know that you're praying for her and for her safety and thank you to everyone who spoke, who stood with us," Mwangi said,
After being missing for several days, Mwangi was finally located at the Kenya-Tanzania border, where reports suggest he was abandoned by Tanzanian security agents following a distressing period in detention.
According to sources, he was deported by road and left at Horohoro border post, a relatively quiet crossing near Ukunda that connects Kenya and Tanzania.
His family, relieved to find him alive, revealed that his physical condition is deeply alarming.
They allege that Mwangi endured torture while in custody, leaving him in a severely weakened state, barely able to walk.
Source: UGC
Given his urgent need for specialised medical attention, arrangements are already in motion to transfer him to Nairobi for thorough treatment.
How Kenyan government had challenges accessing Boniface Mwangi
Despite repeated requests from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanzanian authorities allegedly refused to grant access or provide updates on Mwangi’s condition.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei voiced serious concerns regarding the activist’s safety and well-being.
The ministry’s official letter highlighted the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, an agreement signed by both Kenya and Tanzania, which mandates that diplomats be allowed to visit detained nationals.
Sing’oei pressed Tanzania to either permit access to Mwangi or release him immediately, stressing the need for the country to uphold its international obligations.
What Musalia Mudavadi said over Boniface Mwangi, other activists
During a television interview on Tuesday evening, May 21, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi appeared to support Tanzanian authorities in their handling of activists.
Mudavadi echoed President Samia Suluhu’s remarks, stating that Kenyan and Ugandan activists had introduced “bad manners” into Tanzania.
He suggested that the activists had overstepped boundaries in their actions.
He urged them to acknowledge Kenya’s unique freedoms, emphasising that such freedom of expression is not readily available in other nations.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
