The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior Tanzanian police officer over the alleged detention, torture and sexual assault of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire during a controversial crackdown in Dar es Salaam.
In a statement issued on May 21, 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department had designated Tanzanian Police Force Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele under Section 7031(c) for his alleged involvement in what Washington described as “gross violations of human rights.”
The sanctions effectively bar Mafwele from entering the United States.
Rubio said the U.S. had received credible information linking the senior officer to the alleged abuse of Mwangi and Atuhaire, who had travelled to Tanzania in May 2025 to observe the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
“The Department of State is designating Tanzanian Police Force Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele under Section 7031(c) based on credible information that he was involved in gross violations of human rights,” Rubio stated.
“One year ago, members of the TPF detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted Ugandan Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan Boniface Mwangi, who were in Dar es Salaam to observe the judicial trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. This designation prohibits Mafwele from entering the United States,” he added.
Mwangi and Atuhaire had reportedly travelled to Dar es Salaam on May 19, 2025, to attend Lissu’s first court appearance after the opposition figure was charged with treason in a case that drew widespread international attention and condemnation from rights groups.
According to reports from the activists and human rights organisations, the pair were allegedly abducted from their hotel shortly after arriving in the city before being detained incommunicado for several days.
The two later accused Tanzanian security officers of subjecting them to severe torture, repeated interrogation and sexual assault before abandoning them near the borders of their respective countries.
Mwangi was eventually found alive in Ukunda, Kenya, on May 22, 2025, after reportedly being held for more than three days, while Atuhaire was later discovered near the Mutukula border crossing between Uganda and Tanzania.
The incident sparked outrage across East Africa and intensified scrutiny of Tanzania’s human rights record under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The crackdown also saw several high-profile regional figures detained or deported from Tanzania, including former Kenyan Justice Minister Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and activist Hanifa Adan at Julius Nyerere International Airport.
Speaking after his release, Mwangi described the alleged abuse as among the most horrific experiences of his life and accused Tanzanian authorities of attempting to silence them through fear and intimidation.
“Everything that happened to us in Tanzania was done in Samia Suluhu’s name, and we will ensure the world gets to know. We shall speak for the Tanzanian victims who are too afraid to speak,” Mwangi told journalists.
“What Suluhu did to us will be revealed to the world. We shall not be silenced by a torturous dictator who has her foot on the necks of the Tanzanian people,” he added.
The U.S. sanctions against Mafwele mark one of the strongest international responses yet to the allegations surrounding the treatment of the two activists and are expected to increase diplomatic pressure on the Tanzanian government over its handling of political dissent and civil liberties.
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