They crossed a border not to break the law, but to observe it in action. Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan human rights defender Boniface Mwangi travelled to Tanzania to attend a public court hearing, a basic act of solidarity and transparency.

Instead, they were abducted, tortured, and dumped at border points without explanation or reparation.

Their bruised bodies tell a story that exposes something far bigger: the dangerous erosion of human rights protections across East Africa.

Their ordeals are not isolated incidents but part of a disturbing pattern where governments weaponise state institutions – police, intelligence services, and immigration – against their own people.

This coordinated state-led repression manifests through enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and torture, all conducted under the guise of national security but designed to silence dissent and suppress human rights defenders.

The abduction and torture of Atuhaire and Mwangi constitute clear breaches of fundamental principles enshrined in international and regional agreements.

The East African Community Treaty, which Tanzania has signed, explicitly outlines core values that were flagrantly disregarded.

Article 6 affirms democracy, the rule of law, and human rights protection, while Article 7(2) emphasises good governance and adherence to universal human rights standards.

Article 29 of Tanzania’s own constitution is designed to safeguard personal liberty, yet the treatment of these human rights defenders directly contradicts this provision, highlighting a systematic failure to uphold the rule of law.

There are also critical treaty gaps.

Tanzania has not ratified the UN Convention Against Torture or the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Kenya and Uganda have similarly failed to ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearance.  

Tanzanian lawmakers increasingly defend such actions as necessary to protect national sovereignty, dismissing human rights defenders as foreign interference in internal affairs.

Some parliamentarians have even suggested harsher penalties for deported defenders.

This rhetoric transforms legitimate human rights advocacy into an external threat, justifying actions that suppress dissent and violate fundamental rights.

To address this rising wave of repression, East African governments must act decisively.

Tanzania should immediately ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and the Convention on Enforced Disappearance, while all regional states must implement and enforce existing protections.  

The East African Community must establish an independent human rights mechanism with investigative powers and authority to hold violators accountable.

At the national level, independent oversight bodies require strengthening, and legal protections for human rights defenders – regardless of nationality – must be guaranteed.  

Wangechi Kahuria is a human rights advocate and the Executive Director of the Independent Medico-Legal Unit