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The United States has imposed targeted sanctions on Faustine Jackson Mafwele, a senior assistant commissioner of the Tanzanian police, over the unlawful detention and torture of two prominent East African activists last year.
In May 2025, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan campaigner Agather Atuhaire travelled to Dar es Salaam to show solidarity during the treason trial of detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
However, both campaigners were intercepted by security forces, held incommunicado for several days, and subjected to severe physical and sexual assault before being dumped near their respective national borders.
The office of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the punitive measures on Thursday, citing credible evidence that Mafwele was directly involved in gross human rights violations.
The sanctions officially bar the high-ranking police commander from entering the United States.
While Atuhaire—a recipient of the 2024 US International Women of Courage Award—welcomed the international response, she argued that visa restrictions alone are insufficient for an official who actively ordered thugs to kidnap and abuse them.
She also publicly criticised European nations for failing to issue even a single statement of condemnation when the activists originally disappeared.
The diplomatic fallout places renewed international scrutiny on the Tanzanian government, which has yet to issue an official comment regarding the US penalties.
The state has faced continuous backlash since last year’s general elections, where President Samia Suluhu Hassan secured a sweeping victory after prominent opposition figures were disqualified from participating.
Local opposition parties claim that state security forces were directly involved in post-election violence that resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 people, a repressive climate that has further isolated the administration from global human rights bodies and international partners who combat state-sponsored terror.
