Boniface Mwangi Claims Threat to Life After Hotel Raid in Dar

• May 19, 2025

Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi says he feared for his life after a group of armed men tried to enter his hotel room at Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, early Monday morning without showing any identification.

The incident took place at around 1 a.m. on May 19, just hours after Kenya’s People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua and two other Kenyan delegates were arrested and deported from Tanzania. The trio had travelled to support Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.

According to Mwangi, the men claimed to be police officers but wore civilian clothes and refused to identify themselves. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Mwangi said he stayed inside and demanded proper identification. He refused to open the door and instead started filming the encounter.

“My life is in danger. I’m at Serena Hotel, Dar es Salaam, and there are armed men in civilian clothes outside my room. They claim they are police officers, but they have refused to identify themselves,” Mwangi posted. “They will have to break the door to remove me.”

He shared a video of one man asking him to come to the reception, saying that security cameras were recording everything. Mwangi questioned whether he would be safe if he complied. The man responded, “More than safe… what problem do you have?”

Still unconvinced, Mwangi insisted they either identify themselves or leave. A second man, who introduced himself as “Robinson” and said he worked at the hotel, tried to calm him down. Mwangi asked him to slide his ID card under the door, but Robinson did not comply.

Later that night, Mwangi updated followers, saying the unidentified men had left his door but remained in the hotel lobby. He said his bags were packed and that he would only leave once Tanzanian lawyers arrived. “For now, I will stay put. Thank you for the solidarity,” he wrote.

In the video, Mwangi said he believed the incident was politically motivated. “I’m scared for my life because there are many abductions and executions in this country,” he said, accusing Tanzanian authorities of targeting people who oppose President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government.

Mwangi’s experience follows the deportation of Karua, Law Society of Kenya Council member Gloria Kimani, and Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network member Lynn Ngugi. The three had been detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport after arriving to attend Lissu’s court hearing.

Tundu Lissu is facing treason charges, and the Kenyan delegation had travelled to Tanzania to show solidarity with him.