Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire found amid uproar against Suluhu

Agather Atuhaire, Ugandan lawyer and human rights activist, was Friday morning found abandoned at the border between Uganda and Tanzania, amid international condemnation of President Samia Suluhu.

This comes barely 24 hours after activist Boniface Mwangi was similarly dumped at the Horohoro border, which is approximately 162 kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania Lunga Lunga border post.

Atuhaire, who heads the Agora Discourse platform, had traveled together with Mwangi, opposition leader Martha Karua, former CJ Willy Mutunga and others to attend the trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Mwangi and Atuhaire were arrested at their hotel in Serena, Dar es Salaam and held without access to legal counsel or family, reportedly enduring torture while in custody.

The two arrests and detention, without charge or due process, have triggered widespread condemnation.

“She was beaten, particularly on the feet with blunt objects,” one of her close associates told Uganda’s DailyExpress.

According to Vocal Africa, a human rights organisation, part of the abuse Atuhaire endured included sexual harassment.

The Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network described the events as a serious breach of national and international human rights standards and a signal of a dangerous trend of coordinated abductions, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings in the East African region.

Signed by more than 40 civil society organizations, including the Law Society of Kenya, Amnesty International Kenya, PAWA254, and VOCAL Africa, the statement demands urgent diplomatic intervention.

Among its recommendations is a formal note to the Tanzanian government seeking clarity on the activists' detentions, a regional inquiry into the abuses, and the deployment of human rights monitors to future proceedings.

“This situation represents not only a humanitarian concern for the individuals involved but also a troubling indicator of deteriorating human rights and justice standards within the East African Community. Your diplomatic influence is crucial in ensuring that member states uphold their commitments to human rights and the rule of law," reads the letter also signed by Martha Karua, former Justice Minister in Kenya.

The letter was addressed to African Union Commission, African Commission on Human and People's Rights, East African Commission (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Geneva-based Institute for Human Rights (IHR) stated that President Suluhu must be held accountable for these violations of human rights.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  How Ruto moved the Public Seal during June protests
• 
  Lobby group demands probe into torture of Kenyan, Ugandan activists by Tanzania authorities
• 
  Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire freed, dumped near Tanzania border
• 
  Mwangi details three days of torture, abuse in Tanzania

David Koros, the President of IHR, urged the East African heads of state to uphold both local and international treaties concerning human rights. Koros emphasized that the human rights records in East African countries have deteriorated recently and called on the international community to impose sanctions on those countries that fail to comply with human rights standards.

“It is quite disturbing how Mwangi and Atuhaire were tortured and held incommunicado by security forces in Tanzania merely for entering the country to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.Their abduction and torture represent serious violations of human rights,” he  said .

 Koros asked the African Union (AU) to take action against President Suluhu.

He questioned the Tanzanian authorities' choice to detain Mwangi and Atuhaire while deporting the other human rights observers who had arrived in the country for the trial.

Koros criticized the Kenyan government for not acting in good faith regarding Mwangi's illegal detention, claiming that President William Ruto’s administration has sabotaged the situation by providing misleading information to the public.

“The Kenyan government is also guilty. The foreign affairs department failed to act in good faith,” he stated.

He particularly called out Kenya Kwanza leaders, especially Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, for issuing misleading statements about Mwangi's presence in Tanzania.

 “His statements were reckless and misleading, clearly indicating sabotage by President Ruto’s administration,” Koros said.

Similarly, universities students leaders on Thursday, under the hashtags #JusticeForBoniface, #BringBackAgather, #JumuyaNiYetu, and #RegionalSolidarity, issued a statement demanding answers and accountability from the East African Community (EAC).

“This is not normal. That’s not the Jumuiya we signed up for. What we are witnessing is a vicious and unprovoked attack on human rights defenders. It must end," reads the statement by student leaders and young activists.
The youth called out Presidents William Ruto of Kenya, Suluhu, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to publicly address the illegal detentions.

They described the detention as a shameful betrayal of the values enshrined in the East African Community Treaty and other regional human rights commitments.

“The EAC cannot remain silent while citizens are abducted and tortured by member states. These leaders must act now or be held complicit,” read part of the statement.

Tanzanian authorities had earlier informed Ugandan diplomats that Atuhaire and Mwangi were deported. However, no formal deportation notices or consular access were provided.

“We were told she had been handed over to Ugandan authorities, but we had no confirmation until now. We continue to engage with our counterparts to get clarity," a Ugandan diplomat in Dar es Salaam told the media.

The sequence of events has also revived concerns about the shrinking civic space in Tanzania, a country that has come under criticism in recent years for stifling dissent.

The night, Atuhaire and Mwangi were arrested, six other Kenyans who had gone to observe the trial, among them former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Martha Karua were denied entry and deported back to Kenya.

“They tried to break me, but I am not broken. What happened to me and Agather is an attempt to silence dissent across our region. We must resist this,” said Mwangi.

The Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network has given 72 hours for regional bodies and international actors to respond.

"This situation represents a serious breach of both national and international human rights standards and is evidence of a dangerous trend of coordinated abductions, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings in the region," reads the letter by The Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network.

[By Emmanuel Kipchumba, Fidellis Mogaka and Steve Mkawale]