Latest news with #KNCHR
TimesLIVE
22-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Kenya says Tanzanian authorities have released activist Boniface Mwangi
Tanzania has released a Kenyan activist arrested after he tried to attend a hearing in the treason case against a detained opposition leader in Dar es Salaam, Kenyan authorities said on Thursday. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said it had received Boniface Mwangi in Kenya's southeastern Kwale County on Thursday afternoon. Kenya's foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi also confirmed Mwangi's release. Mwangi had attempted to observe opposition leader Tundu Lissu's first court appearance on Monday in a case that has highlighted a growing crackdown on opponents of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in Tanzania's last presidential poll, was charged with treason in April over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October. Mwangi was arrested on allegations of providing false information to gain entry into the country, an advocacy group said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kenya says Tanzanian authorities have released activist
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) -Tanzania has released a Kenyan activist who had been arrested after he tried to attend a hearing in the treason case against a detained opposition leader in Dar es Salaam, Kenyan authorities said on Thursday. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said it had received Boniface Mwangi in Kenya's southeastern Kwale County on Thursday afternoon. Kenya's foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, also confirmed Mwangi's release. Mwangi had attempted to observe opposition leader Tundu Lissu's first court appearance on Monday, in a case that has spotlighted a growing crackdown on opponents of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in Tanzania's last presidential poll, was charged with treason in April over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October. Mwangi was arrested on allegations of providing false information to gain entry into the country, an advocacy group said. "(Mwangi) is in high spirits. The Commission and other partners are making arrangements to transfer him to Nairobi for medical attention," KNCHR wrote on X, sharing a photograph of Mwangi alongside rights activist Hussein Khalid. Khalid said Mwangi had been severely tortured by Tanzanian security agents and could barely walk: "His body is broken but his spirit remains strong." The chief spokesperson for Tanzania's Immigration Services Department, Paul Mselle, did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment on the torture accusations. It was not clear whether Ugandan lawyer and activist Agather Atuhaire, who was being held with Mwangi, had also been released. President Hassan, who is seeking re-election in October, has said Tanzania's government is committed to respecting human rights following a series of high-profile arrests of political opponents. But in public remarks on Monday, she warned foreign activists against "invading and interfering in our affairs".
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Kenya says Tanzanian authorities have released activist
DAR ES SALAAM, May 22 (Reuters) - Tanzania has released a Kenyan activist who had been arrested after he tried to attend a hearing in the treason case against a detained opposition leader in Dar es Salaam, Kenyan authorities said on Thursday. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said it had received Boniface Mwangi in Kenya's southeastern Kwale County on Thursday afternoon. Kenya's foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, also confirmed Mwangi's release. Mwangi had attempted to observe opposition leader Tundu Lissu's first court appearance on Monday, in a case that has spotlighted a growing crackdown on opponents of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in Tanzania's last presidential poll, was charged with treason in April over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October. Mwangi was arrested on allegations of providing false information to gain entry into the country, an advocacy group said. "(Mwangi) is in high spirits. The Commission and other partners are making arrangements to transfer him to Nairobi for medical attention," KNCHR wrote on X, sharing a photograph of Mwangi alongside rights activist Hussein Khalid. Khalid said Mwangi had been severely tortured by Tanzanian security agents and could barely walk: "His body is broken but his spirit remains strong." The chief spokesperson for Tanzania's Immigration Services Department, Paul Mselle, did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment on the torture accusations. It was not clear whether Ugandan lawyer and activist Agather Atuhaire, who was being held with Mwangi, had also been released. President Hassan, who is seeking re-election in October, has said Tanzania's government is committed to respecting human rights following a series of high-profile arrests of political opponents. But in public remarks on Monday, she warned foreign activists against "invading and interfering in our affairs".
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Activist freed in Tanzania after Kenyan government demand
An activist detained in Tanzania for three days has been released shortly after Kenya's foreign ministry demanded his release. A top official in the ministry, Korir Sing'oei, said on X that Boniface Mwangi was "now back in the country". Lawyer and fellow activist, Khalid Hussein, told the BBC Mwangi they were together in Kenya's coast region The Kenyan activist was arrested in Dar es Salaam on Monday alongside Ugandan Agather Atuhaire by suspected military officers and their whereabouts remained unknown. They had been in the country to attend the court case of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is accused of treason. The Tanzanian authorities have not commented on Mwangi's detention and deportation. But on Monday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned that she would not allow activists from neighbouring countries to "meddle" in her country's affairs and cause "chaos". Earlier on Thursday, Kenya's foreign affairs ministry issued a statement saying it had not been able to access the activist. It said that despite repeated requests, it had been "denied consular access" or information about him, and expressed concern about his health. It urged Tanzania to "expeditiously and without delay" allow access, or release him, "in accordance with international legal obligations and diplomatic norms". Later, Kenya's state-funded rights commission said it had received the activist in Kwale county, following his release from Tanzania. KNCHR posted a picture of him alongside other people including his wife, Njeri, and fellow activist Hussein and said he was "in high spirits". The commission said it was planning to transfer him to the capital Nairobi for medical attention. The activist was reportedly left at the Kenyan border on Thursday morning following his release by the Tanzanian authorities. On Wednesday, his wife told the BBC that she had last heard from him on Monday and had not been able to establish where he was. "I'm actually concerned for his life. I know my husband, he would have communicated, he'd find a way to call or text me and because he hasn't, makes me very worried about what state he is in," she told the BBC Newsday radio programme. Kenya's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed similar concerns about the activist's "health, overall well-being and the absence of information regarding his detention". It said diplomats should have access to their nationals detained by a host nation in accordance with the Vienna Convention on consular relations. "In light of the above, the [ministry] respectfully urges the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to expeditiously and without delay facilitate consular access to or release Mr Mwangi," it said. Its statement came amid growing outrage, especially after Tanzania's deportation of former Kenyan justice minister Martha Karua and other activists, who had also gone to attend Lissu's hearing, over the weekend. In recent months, rights groups have been expressing concern at the apparent crackdown on Tanzania's opposition ahead of elections in October. Additional reporting by Laillah Mohamed in Nairobi X restricted in Tanzania after police targeted by hackers Why Samia's hesitant reforms are fuelling Tanzanian political anger 'Manhandled and choked' - Tanzanian activist recounts abduction The Tanzanians searching for their grandfathers' skulls in Germany Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
