{"id":115540,"date":"2025-05-25T10:03:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T10:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/05\/25\/tanzanias-suluhu-warns-of-foreign-interference-amid-rights-abuse-claims\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T10:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T10:03:16","slug":"tanzanias-suluhu-warns-of-foreign-interference-amid-rights-abuse-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/tanzanias-suluhu-warns-of-foreign-interference-amid-rights-abuse-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Tanzania\u2019s Suluhu Warns of Foreign Interference Amid Rights Abuse Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya May 25 \u2013 President Samia Suluhu Hassan has reaffirmed her administration\u2019s commitment to safeguarding Tanzania from foreign interference, warning that so-called \u201coutsiders\u201d are exploiting advocacy and partnerships as cover to destabilise the nation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking during the swearing-in of newly appointed government officials at State House in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, President Suluhu urged vigilance across all sectors of government and civil society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey may not succeed through direct confrontation, but they will infiltrate our institutions\u2014our ministries, our agencies. I urge you all to be alert and protect our nation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Her remarks come amid growing scrutiny over Tanzania\u2019s treatment of human rights defenders and civil society actors. While the President did not name specific entities, her comments are widely seen as a veiled response to mounting criticism from international human rights organisations and foreign governments over the country\u2019s increasingly constrained civic space.<\/p>\n<p>The warning follows fresh allegations of abuse involving two prominent East African activists\u2014Ugandan journalist and rights advocate Agather Atuhaire, and Kenyan photojournalist and social justice campaigner Boniface Mwangi\u2014who were reportedly mistreated while in the custody of Tanzanian authorities.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the United States government expressed \u201cdeep concern\u201d over the alleged human rights violations and called for a thorough investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment in Tanzania of two East African activists\u2014Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi,\u201d the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs posted on X.<\/p>\n<p>The statement noted that Atuhaire, known for her anti-corruption advocacy, had been honoured in 2024 with the U.S. Department of State\u2019s International Women of Courage Award, which recognises women demonstrating exceptional leadership in the pursuit of peace, justice, and human rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe call for an immediate and full investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses,\u201d the statement read, urging governments in the region to hold those responsible for torture and other rights violations to account.<\/p>\n<p>Tanzanian authorities have yet to issue an official response to the allegations or the U.S. call for accountability. Details of the activists\u2019 alleged mistreatment remain unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Atuhaire and Mwangi are widely respected figures in East Africa\u2019s civil society landscape, known for their outspoken positions on government accountability and democratic governance.<\/p>\n<p>The two were reportedly part of a delegation attending the ongoing treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu\u2014a vocal critic of President Suluhu\u2014who has been barred from contesting in the October 2025 general election.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya May 25 \u2013 President Samia Suluhu Hassan has reaffirmed her administration\u2019s commitment to safeguarding Tanzania from foreign interference, warning that so-called \u201coutsiders\u201d are exploiting advocacy and partnerships as cover to destabilise the nation. Speaking during the swearing-in of newly appointed government officials at State House in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, President Suluhu [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}