Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi and his Ugandan counterpart Agather Atuhaire have filed a case at the East African Court of Justice against the Tanzanian Government, accusing it of violating human rights.
The activist are backed by seven civil society groups; Agora Centre for Research, Centre for Strategic Litigation, East Africa Law Society, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Innovations for Democratic Engagement and Action (IDEA), the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya), and the Pan African Lawyers Union.
In a statement, the activists demanded compensation of at least KSh129 million (approximately $1 million) and a public apology from Tanzania, as well as Kenya and Uganda, since they claim the two nations aided Tanzania in their illegal deportation.
The two also demanded rehabilitation and psychological support following their ordeal in Tanzania.
This comes just a month after they went public with a chilling account of what they went through in the hands of alleged state operatives in Tanzania.
In his narration, Mwangi said they were brutally tortured at the hands of Tanzanian authorities.
“We had been tortured, and we were told to strip naked and to go bathe. We couldn’t walk and were told to crawl and go wash off the blood,” Mwangi said. “We were handcuffed and blindfolded, so I didn’t even see her, but I heard her groaning in pain as they barked orders at us.”
“Any attempt to speak to each other during the night we were tortured was met with kicks and insults. We were removed from the torture location in different vehicles,” he added.
Mwangi was released on Thursday, May 22 and dumped in Ukunda, Kwale County, while Atuhaire was dumped in Mutukula, at the border of Uganda and Tanzania, hours later.
By Sandra Zynant
