Sifuna tells Ruto to retract apology to Tanzania, pull out of AFCON co-hosting over activists' abuse claims

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has called on the Kenyan government to retract its apology to Tanzania and instead demand an apology from the neighbouring country over the alleged abuse of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agatha Atuhaire by Tanzanian police.

The activists reportedly suffered physical and psychological abuse during their visit to Tanzania, prompting Sifuna to propose strong retaliatory measures against Tanzania and Uganda.

During the Annual National Prayer Breakfast on May 28, President William Ruto issued an apology to Tanzania and Uganda for any wrongdoings by Kenyans, saying, "To our neighbours from Tanzania, if we have wronged you in any way, we ask for your forgiveness," and "If there is anything that Kenyans have done that is not right, we want to apologise."

Sifuna, however, disagreed sharply with this approach, stating, "Withdraw that apology and demand that Tanzania apologise to us instead."

Mwangi and Atuhaire travelled to Tanzania on May 18 to follow court proceedings involving opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Upon arrival, they were forcefully removed from their hotel, taken between police stations, questioned, and allegedly tortured.

Mwangi revealed, “When the lawyers left us, they did not tell our families that we are being beaten, threatened and harassed. Because Mafwele, in front of the lawyers, asked if I was circumcised. He said they would circumcise me again.

"At that station, Mafwele said he is going to rape Agather,” he added.

Reacting to these events, Sifuna urged the government to take firm action, including banning the leadership of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), from visiting Kenya.

Senator Sifuna also called for Kenya and Uganda to withdraw from jointly hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Tanzania, and to move the East Africa Law Society (EALS) annual conference from Zanzibar, scheduled for June 12-13, 2025.

Sifuna's proposals come amid demands from human rights groups such as Amnesty International, the Law Society of Kenya, and the Kenyan chapter of the International Commission of Jurists, which have called for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to investigate the activists' treatment.

These groups condemned the inhumane conditions in which the two were held for four days without medical care or access to family and legal representation.

The human rights lobbyists emphasised that "torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are serious crimes under multiple treaties and international law." They urged relevant EALA committees to summon the foreign ministers of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to explain the incidents.

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