Press statement:

ZAM calls to sanction Tanzanian immigration and police officials 

Torture of journalist and activist enabled by Dutch-trained immigration structures

Last week, Dutch-trained immigration officials in the East African country of Tanzania handed over a journalist and an activist from two neighbouring countries to a local torture squad.  The two, ZAM partner network member Agather Atuhaire of the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors (NAIRE) and Kenyan good governance activist Boniface Mwangi, had travelled to Tanzania, from Uganda and Kenya respectively, to observe a political trial against a local opposition leader. Instead, they were abducted and forced to endure four days of beatings, sexual assault and other torture techniques, as well as threats of ‘humiliation’ if they would disclose what had happened to them. They were finally abandoned in deserted border areas, each a few kilometers away from their own countries. 

During the days the two had disappeared, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan, -nicknamed Idi Amin Mama- made statements warning ‘foreigners’ not to bring ‘trouble’ to Tanzania, appearing to condone the immigration and police actions.

Ironically, Suluhu Hassan’s regime’s drive to keep ‘troublemakers’ out of the country, has been assisted by a project by the Dutch government to ‘build capacity’ of Tanzania’s immigration service.  The project, called Hostmanship, is managed by the Netherland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Return and Departure’ arm, which oversees return of unwanted immigrants from the Netherlands to their countries of origin. Project Hostmanship aims to ensure that immigration services in countries successfully restrict their citizens from leaving for Europe illegally. In this case, the Tanzanian immigration authorities used their newly built-up capacity to deal with ‘unwanted foreigners’ in their own way.

Before the abduction of the two from Dar es Salaam’s central police station, where they had been brought from their hotel after having been arrested by immigration officials, Atuhaire and Mwangi had been told that they had ‘violated Section 45’ of Tanzania’s immigration act. Section 45 of that act, which states that lying to an immigration official is an offence, had allegedly been broken because the activists had said they were visiting friends in Tanzania without explaining that they were part of a group intending to observe the political trial against Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Lissu, whose party has been banned from participating in elections planned for October, had publicly called for protests against election rigging, resulting in Samia Suluhu’s government charging him with treason.

Several other members of the observing group to which the two torture victims Agather Atuhaire and Boniface Mwangi belong included lawyers from other African countries who had earlier been deported while trying to pass through immigration.

In light of rising oppression and autocracy in East African states such as Tanzania, but also Uganda, which holds many political prisoners, and Kenya, where scores of good governance protesters were shot dead a year ago, ZAM calls upon the Dutch government to stop assisting repressive states and instead support democratic movements for good governance. ZAM also calls on the Dutch government to supply an explanation of what has happened, or failing this, to request an inquiry into the incident from its Tanzanian counterparts.

“If the Netherlands does not want people to leave Tanzania, the Dutch government, instead of assisting dictators, would do better supporting Tanzanian forces for democracy so that citizens can stay safely home in freedom”, says Sean Fitzpatrick, director of ZAM.

ZAM is backing initiatives to investigate the incident, including steps to hold the torture squad and its bosses accountable. Read more about Agather Atuhaire and Uganda’s democratic movements that fight for justice and rule of law in ZAM’s Legal Rebels’ Ugandan chapter, published today. 

For queries contact ZAM’s investigations editor Evelyn Groenink at evelyn@zammagazine.com.