NAIROBI — A group of Kenyan activists has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to release detained rights campaigner Boniface Mwangi. If not, they say, they will cross the border themselves.
Mwangi, a well-known Kenyan photojournalist and activist, was arrested in Tanzania on Monday. He had travelled there to attend the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
His wife, Njeri Mwangi, said he was taken from his hotel in Dar es Salaam alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire.
“We haven’t been able to speak to him,” she told reporters on Tuesday morning. “He’s been held incommunicado since the arrest.”
According to his lawyer, Jebra Kambole, the two spent the night at the central police station in Dar es Salaam.
Back in Nairobi, the activist group Kongamano la Mapinduzi — a coalition of left-leaning movements and individuals — held a press conference to call for immediate action.
“Agather and Boniface are still in custody. We’ve not heard from them,” said Don Githuku, a leading figure in the group. “But our comrades in Tanzania are following up.”
He added bluntly, “If Boniface is not released within 24 hours, we will march to the Tanzanian High Commission. If that doesn’t work, we’re going to Tanzania.”
The group accused President Suluhu of suppressing dissent and went further to criticise Kenya’s President William Ruto and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, alleging that the trio is closing down political space across East Africa.
“We’re East Africans,” said Githuku. “We have the right to support one another across borders. The problem is not the people — it’s the presidents.”
Tensions rose further after Suluhu gave a firm warning on Monday during a national address. She criticised what she described as “regional activists trying to meddle in Tanzania’s affairs.”
“We have started to observe a trend where activists from within our region are attempting to intrude and interfere,” she said during a televised event to unveil Tanzania’s new foreign policy.
Suluhu urged Tanzanian security forces to stop “ill-mannered individuals from other countries” from stepping out of line.
That same day, several prominent Kenyan figures, including former Justice Minister Martha Karua and ex-Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, were blocked from entering Tanzania. They had flown in to observe Lissu’s trial. Instead, they were held briefly at the airport and put on a return flight to Nairobi.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Uganda, opposition leader Kizza Besigye is also facing treason charges. His case drew fresh scrutiny after reports emerged that he was arrested in Kenya and forcibly taken back to Uganda.
The arrests and deportations have raised questions about shrinking democratic space in East Africa. Civil rights defenders across the region are now watching Tanzania closely.
“There is no East African Community without respect for human rights,” said one Nairobi-based legal expert, who asked not to be named. “If leaders continue cracking down on each other’s citizens, we’re heading down a dangerous road.”
Tanzanian officials have not released a formal charge against Mwangi or Atuhaire. As of Tuesday evening, both remained in custody. Activists say the clock is ticking.
