Tanzania yet to decide whether to charge or deport activist Boniface Mwangi, wife says

Njeri Mwangi, the wife of human rights activist and journalist Boniface Mwangi, says the Tanzanian government is yet to decide the fate of her husband following his arrest in a Dar es Salaam ahead of a planned appearance in court to observe the case against Opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Addressing an international press conference at his Argwings Khodek Road offices, she said they are yet to whether he will be charged or deported.

“I have been told they are waiting for the government of Tanzania to consult and decide whether to charge him or to deport him,” Njeri said.

Mwangi was arrested yesterday after he moved out of his room at Serena Hotel where he was holed up after claiming that his life was in danger after armed men, whom he stated claimed to be police, showed up at his door.

He had refused to step out of the room as requested by the armed men.

“My life is in danger. I’m at Serena Hotel, Dar es Salaam, and there are armed men in civilian clothes outside my room. They claim they are police officers, but they have refused to identify themselves. They will have to break the door to remove me here. I’m not going to open it,” Mwangi posted on his social handles.

He further shared a video, adding that he feared he would be abducted.

Mwangi was later taken from the Serena Hotel along with Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire and held overnight at the central police station in Dar es Salaam, a fact confirmed by Mwangi’s lawyer, Jebra Kambole.

The raid by the officers in his room came after People’s Liberation Party Leader Martha Karua, emeritus Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, among other human rights activists, were deported back to Kenya after showing up in Dar in solidarity with Lissu.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday warned foreign activists not to interfere in the country’s affairs, urging security forces to prevent outsiders from crossing the line.