00:00Roughly five months before Tanzania's national elections,
00:04Ugandan journalist Agatha Atuhairi and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi
00:08were tortured by security forces while in the country.
00:12We were put on an upside position where my legs were up like this,
00:17my body's up, I'm stuck naked, and then they started beating my feet.
00:23So they would beat me and massage my feet, beat me and massage my feet.
00:28I was screaming so hard, there was no tears coming out because of how painful it was.
00:33There to observe a political trial, the pair were abducted from their hotel rooms in Dar es Salaam
00:38and taken to undisclosed locations where they were beaten and sexually abused by officers
00:44over several days.
00:45They didn't use their sexual organs. That was, and I had to say a relief with all that happened,
00:54but it could have been worse. I didn't see a way out of that. I didn't think we'd get out of that alive.
01:01Atuhairi and Mwangi came to Tanzania to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lisu,
01:08who heads the Chademo party. Lisu was arrested for treason in April after holding a rally calling for
01:15electoral reforms ahead of the October elections. Along with a group of East African activists, they joined
01:21calls for greater political freedom, a risk in Tanzania where opposition voices are routinely harassed.
01:28Most Tanzanian activists go through similar things. They arrest you and they take you through sexual
01:39torture and tell you if you speak you're going to humiliate you to your family and all that.
01:43And it's what they did to us.
01:48A 2024 human rights report says Tanzanian authorities have stepped up crackdowns, including arbitrary
01:56arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial killings. While the courts may look like they follow the law,
02:04East African legal experts say they offer little help to victims of political violence.
02:09These are kangaroo trials. Even Tundu Lisu is a kangaroo trial. And I don't expect those two to get justice.
02:20The government has denied the 2024 findings, calling them false and misleading.
02:25Some Tanzanians are expressing that the issues raised continue to persist,
02:30with many showing support for DW's coverage of political intimidation.
02:34You say DW is telling lies. What lies? People are not killed by unknown people? In court are people
02:40not beaten by the police openly? Isn't all this a violation of human rights? Tanzania is the only
02:47country where if you just criticize the government, you become a missing person. And then we are told
02:52that we are a country of peace. I respect DW. In Tanzania, there is no freedom of expression. If you speak
02:58the truth, then you will not exist tomorrow. Many have disappeared and been killed. Others remain
03:04skeptical. DW, it's like you guys have been sent. Why are you asking provocative questions in the
03:10comments so that we can get into trouble? The Human Rights Watch cannot issue a report without
03:15involving the public and getting the truth about this matter. What they reported is completely false.
03:20With the aim of smearing our Tanzania and its leaders, we condemn their report with great regret.
03:26With elections looming in Tanzania, rights groups are increasingly concerned about the ever-shrinking
03:32space for government critics.
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