Dar es Salaam / Kampala | Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has publicly identified the Tanzanian officer he says played a central role in the torture and rape of Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire during her secret detention in Tanzania, in what is shaping up to be one of the most disturbing cases of state-sponsored abuse in East Africa in recent years.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Mwangi named Faustin Mafwele as the man who not only coordinated their arrest but also verbally threatened to rape Atuhaire and ensured her handover to security agents who later allegedly carried out the assault.
“This man we now know is called Faustin Mafwele threatened to rape @AAgather and ensure he gets her pregnant with a daughter, since Agather said she is a mother of two boys,” Mwangi wrote.
“He is the one who made the phone call for us to be picked up by the torturers from Central Police Station.”
The chilling revelation comes a day after Atuhaire, an award-winning Ugandan investigative journalist, was found dumped at the Uganda-Tanzania border at Mutukula with visible injuries. In an interview with the BBC, she confirmed that she was blindfolded, stripped, and raped while in Tanzanian custody.
Atuhaire and Mwangi had traveled to Dar es Salaam earlier in the week to attend the court trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
They were arrested under unclear circumstances, held without access to lawyers or consular officials, and tortured during their detention.
Mwangi, who was deported earlier in the week and left at the Kenya-Tanzania border, has described a campaign of coordinated abuse.
He said both were subjected to dehumanizing treatment, including confiscation of personal items and psychological torment, orchestrated by Mafwele.
There has been no official response from the Tanzanian government, and the Tanzanian police have not confirmed whether Mafwele is an active officer.
The revelations have sparked a wave of international condemnation.
The U.S. State Department, which awarded Atuhaire the International Women of Courage Award in 2024, expressed “deep concern” over the reported sexual violence and called for accountability.
Human rights organizations across the region are demanding an independent investigation into the rape and torture allegations and pressing for sanctions against those responsible.
“This is not just a case of unlawful detention—it is a case of state-enabled sexual violence,” said a regional human rights expert. “Naming the officer responsible is the first step. Now justice must follow.”
Atuhaire is currently receiving medical care and trauma counseling in Kampala. Pressure is mounting on the Ugandan and Kenyan governments to escalate their diplomatic engagement and on the East African Community to launch an independent inquiry.
