Two well-known East African activists, Boniface Mwangi from Kenya and Agather Atuhaire from Uganda, recently shared a disturbing experience they say happened in Tanzania. According to the pair, Tanzanian immigration officers detained them, and during that time, they were allegedly mistreated and tortured by the police.
But Tanzanian authorities are pushing back. Dar es Salaam’s Special Police Zone Commander, Jumanne Muliro, dismissed the claims outright, calling them personal opinions rather than official complaints.
“That’s just their view,” Muliro said in Swahili. “If what they’re saying is true, they should have gone through the proper channels to report it. These are just opinions. If they were here, I’d have questioned them myself.”
Muliro added that instead of speaking to the press, the activists should have addressed their grievances directly with Tanzanian authorities. “I wish it were Boniface himself talking to me. There’s a lot I’d like to ask him. It’s hard to speak on someone’s behalf when they’re not present,” he added.
The Tanzanian police response hasn’t gone unnoticed. Critics say it feels dismissive and may add tension between Tanzania and its neighbors, Kenya and Uganda. Some worry that this situation could strain already sensitive diplomatic relations in the region.
As this drama unfolds, Tanzania’s government is also under fire for another issue, its decision to block access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Jerry Silaa, defended the move, saying it’s meant to protect citizens from harmful and explicit online content.
“We’re removing content that violates Section 16 of the Online Content Regulations,” Silaa explained.
However, not everyone agrees. Digital rights groups have strongly opposed the ban, warning that it limits freedom of expression and keeps people from accessing important information online.
By Risper Akinyi
