The United States has barred a senior Tanzanian police official from entering its territory, citing alleged involvement in gross human rights violations linked to the detention and abuse of foreign activists last year.
The US State Department designated Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustine Jackson Mafwele under Section 7031(c), a provision that allows Washington to restrict entry for foreign officials accused of serious corruption or human rights abuses.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the designation was based on “credible information” that Mafwele participated in gross violations of human rights, a move that immediately renders him ineligible for entry into the United States.
According to the US statement, members of the Tanzanian Police Force allegedly detained, tortured and sexually assaulted two East African activists in May last year while they were in Dar es Salaam to observe court proceedings involving opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
The activists, Kenyan Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire, were reportedly in Tanzania monitoring hearings in a case involving Lissu, one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures and a long-time critic of the government.
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Mwangi has previously alleged he was stripped, beaten on the soles of his feet and sexually assaulted during detention, while Atuhaire has also alleged she was raped. Tanzanian authorities have dismissed the claims.
The allegations have drawn renewed international attention to Tanzania’s human rights record, particularly around political trials and the treatment of activists and journalists covering opposition-linked cases.
Tundu Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and has faced multiple arrests over what supporters describe as politically motivated charges, has long accused security agencies of targeting opposition voices.
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The US designation does not impose economic sanctions but is a diplomatic restriction that bars entry into the country and signals official condemnation of the officer’s alleged conduct.
Washington has increasingly used visa bans under Section 7031(c) as a tool to target foreign officials accused of abuses, particularly in politically sensitive cases involving opposition politics and civil society.
Tanzanian police have rejected the allegations underlying the US action, maintaining that their officers acted within the law during the incidents in question.
The move is likely to add diplomatic tension between Washington and Dar es Salaam, even as both countries maintain broader cooperation on security and regional stability in East Africa.
