Target: Dr. Gerard Niyungeko, President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Goal: Fully investigate allegations against Tanzanian officials of torture and violence.
Two activists who visited Tanzania claim they were grabbed by armed men, physically abused at a detention facility, and sexually abused by multiple people at another undisclosed facility. The shocking alleged acts reportedly ended with both activists stripped, suspended upside down, beaten, and molested. One of the activists also claims he was smeared with his own excrement in another humiliating form of apparent “sexual torture.” The allegations are just the latest against an increasingly authoritarian regime that has become notorious for reported illegal detentions and enforced disappearances. Some critics within the country who have spoken out against the repression have been mysteriously murdered.
Similar allegations of sexual violence and even ethnic cleansing have also been leveled against leaders in war-torn South Sudan, where – perhaps not coincidentally – detained individuals in America are being shipped. The only way for these abuses to end is for those responsible to be held fully accountable. The activists who allege abuse in Tanzania have vowed to bring a case in Africa’s most prominent courts.
Sign the petition below to demand all officials accused of abusing their authority in such egregious ways answer to a court of law.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dr. Niyungeko,
Serious allegations of torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances of dissenters have roiled both South Sudan and Tanzania. A recent accusation brought by Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire involving alleged kidnapping and sexual torture during a visit to Tanzania may come under your review. Please evaluate the facts with expedience and allow the case to proceed if the allegations are proven to have merit.
The widespread reported abuses in both nations must be urgently addressed. Any survivors and victims deserve justice, and future potential victims need protection from authoritarian intimidation and brutality.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Мария Кашина
