Free at last: Boniface Mwangi released from detention

Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has been released from detention by Tanzanian authorities, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has confirmed.

The release ends several days of silence and rising diplomatic tension between Kenya and Tanzania.

Mwangi had been held since Monday under unclear circumstances, sparking alarm among his family, human rights groups, and the Kenyan government.

Mudavadi announced his release in a brief statement on Thursday, May 22.

“Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi confirms that activist Boni Mwangi has been released by the Tanzanian authorities,” the statement read.

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Activist Boniface Mwangi being pushed in a wheelchair at Moi International Airport in Mombasa County on Thursday, 22nd May, 2025

Video: Joackim Bwana pic.twitter.com/LVzCEMxAkJ

— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) May 22, 2025

Later in an interview, Mudavadi said Mwangi’s release was secured through diplomatic efforts that had been ongoing behind the scenes.

"We've been engaging through diplomatic channels. We have engaged with the Tanzanian authorities, including very early today, and the information I have is that he has been released. I’m not talking about his release being imminent, I’m talking about it having been done,” said the CS.

“We believe that in good time there'll be communication, including from himself, after he has found an opportunity to talk."

Human rights defender Khalid Hussein confirmed Mwangi’s return, stating: “He is released and is here with us. The man was dumped at the border, and by the time he made it to Mombasa, it was around 8 am,” said Khalid.

He added that Mwangi appeared weak and injured but was taken to a hospital in Diani for urgent medical attention.

“He has told us that he was badly tortured by the Tanzanian police. We took him to the hospital, and now we are planning on airlifting him to Nairobi,” Hussein said.

Despite the announcement, Mwangi’s family has yet to issue a public statement.

On Thursday, police had deployed in large numbers around Reinsurance Plaza, which houses the Tanzania High Commission, in a bid to prevent demonstrations.