US imposes sanctions on Tanzania's top cop over alleged rights violations

The United States has sanctioned Tanzania's police chief and barred him from entering the country, over allegations of “torture and sexual assault” of two human rights activists last year.

Washington’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Thursday said there was “credible information” linking Faustine Jackson Mafwele to gross human rights violations.

Kenyan Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan Agather Atuhaire travelled to Tanzania in May last year in solidarity with detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing a treason trial and a potential death sentence.

But the two activists were themselves detained and both claim they were tortured and sexually assaulted.

The alleged they were held "incommunicado" for several days by security forces, before being dumped near their respective borders.

Tanzanian police at the time dismissed the allegations, describing the activists' accounts as "opinion" and "hearsay".

The incident caused a regional outcry, with activists condemning the Tanzanian government, and focusing attention back on Lissu, who has been detained since April 2025.

The move bars Mafwele from entering the US and marks the first time a senior official under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration has faced such sanctions.

Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, said the government had not yet received formal notification of the designation.

The sanctions come amid growing scrutiny of Dodoma’s human rights record, with US lawmakers calling for tougher action.

Atuhaire, who won an International Women of Courage Award from the US in 2024, welcomed the sanctions but said more was needed.

"The sanctions are not strong enough," she said, saying that Mafwele was "the one that called in thugs and gave the order ... for them to kidnap us and torture us".

"I have been disappointed with the European countries," she said. "They never even put out a single statement when we were disappeared and tortured. Nothing."

Mwangi is a well-known activist in Kenya who has announced plans to run for the presidency in next year's election.

The Tanzanian government did not respond to requests for comment.

It faced criticism in the aftermath of last year's elections, won overwhelmingly by incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan after key opposition figures were barred from running.