Stripped naked, brutally beaten, sexually assaulted & smeared in human waste, Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire has recounted the horrific abuse she says she suffered at the hands of Tanzanian security agents last week.
Atuhaire, recipient of the 2024 U.S. International Women of Courage Award, was arrested Mon in Dar es Salaam, where she had gone to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu during his treason trial, a politically sensitive case that could carry the death penalty ahead of Tanzania’s October elections.
Atuhaire detailed how she & Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi were detained without explanation, denied legal counsel & subjected to degrading treatment, including sexual violence & physical torture. The ordeal ended when Tanzanian agents dumped her at the Uganda-Tanzania border at Mutukula. “They said, what happens in Tanzania stays in Tanzania… We have videos of you” she said, describing threats meant to silence her.
They were arrested upon arrival & interrogated. “Whites are sending you to destabilise our country” she was told. Blindfolded & taken to an undisclosed location, she heard Mwangi’s screams as he was taken away. She says she was then stripped, wrists cuffed to her ankles & beaten. Officers struck the soles of her feet until she could not walk & another inserted an object into her anus, an act she called sexual torture. “I had never known pain like that” she said. “I don’t remember which pain was worse. After that beating, I scream”
Her body was smeared in excrement & the entire ordeal recorded, a tactic meant to degrade & silence. “They rely on victims feeling ashamed. But I’m not ashamed” she said. “They are the ones committing crimes”
The U.S. Department of State expressed “deep concern” & called for a full investigation. Amnesty International condemned the abuse as “torture and forcible deportation” urging Tanzanian authorities to launch a transparent inquiry. Tanzania’s gov’t has not issued a statement
Atuhaire, a lawyer & journalist known for exposing corruption in Uganda, founded the Agora Centre for Research and is a prominent civil society voice in East Africa. Her arrest followed remarks by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan warning against foreign activists “intruding” in national affairs.
A day later, still in custody & unable to stand, she was ordered to “exercise” despite severe foot injuries.
During blindfolded detention, she remained gripped by uncertainty. Mwangi, released & deported Thu, described the ordeal as “gruesome” “We were treated worse than dogs,” he said. “Chained, blindfolded, tortured. What happened to us is what happens to Tanzanian activists”
Atuhaire plans legal action. “Justice matters more than shame, which I don’t feel” she said. “I am in pain & I know I’ll face mental pain too. But I will not give these criminals the pleasure of seeing me broken”