Tanzania President Samia Suluhu, she has denied officials from Kenyan government access to detained activist Boniface Mwangi. Photo: Samia Suluhu X.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania has confirmed that the Tanzanian Authority has denied them access to detained Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi.
In a statement dated May 21, 2025, the two offices stated that the efforts by Kenyan government officials was met with high resistance, and scarce information about the whereabouts of Mwangi.
“The Ministry notes that, despite several requests, officials of the Government of Kenya have been denied consular access and information to Mr. Mwangi. The Ministry is also concerned about his health, overall wellbeing and the absence of information regarding his detention,” read the statement.
The Ministry further called on Tanzania to act on the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), which both the two countries are parties, that says consular officers shall be free to communicate with nationals of the sending state and have access to them and a right by the officers to visit a national of the sending state who is in prison, custody or detention.
“In light with the above, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs respectfully urges the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to expeditiously and without delay facilitate consular access to or release Mr. Mwangi, in accordance with international legal obligations and diplomatic norms. The Government of Kenya reaffirms its commitment to the cordial bilateral relations that exist between the two countries and expresses the hope that this matter will be resolved swiftly and amicably, in the spirit of regional cooperation and mutual respect,” further read the statement.
The circulation of the statement comes after former chief justice David Maraga expressed his disappointment to the Kenyan government for treating the disappearance of the activist casually, despite alarms from Kenyans and activists in East Africa,
Mwangi was detained in Tanzania alongside Ugandan journalist Agatha Atuhaire, who in Tanzania to follow on the case of treason against Tanzania’s opposition Chief Tundu Lissu, who was detained with Suluhu after he rejected elections to be conducted without reforms.
Lissu has been in tussle with president, calling out Suluhu for making Tanzania a dictatorship, and was earlier shot to a near death point before feeing out of the country during late president John Magufuli’s reign.
