The Agora Centre for Research (Agora CFR) has sounded an urgent alarm over the detention of Ugandan journalist and human rights lawyer Agather Atuhaire by Tanzanian authorities, calling for immediate consular intervention from the Ugandan government to secure her release and safe return home.
In an official letter dated May 22, 2025, addressed to the Ugandan High Commission in Dar es Salaam, Agora CFR revealed that Atuhaire travelled to Tanzania on the night of Sunday, May 18, 2025, arriving at approximately 10:00 PM local time via Julius Nyerere International Airport.
The purpose of her trip, the organisation said, was to participate in a regional solidarity mission “to observe proceedings in the ongoing trial of opposition leader, Tundu Lissu.”
However, less than 24 hours after her arrival, Atuhaire was taken into custody under troubling circumstances. The letter states that “she was detained by plain-clothed security operatives who identified themselves as members of the Tanzania Police Force at around 13:00 hours on Monday, 19 May 2025 from the Dar-es-Salaam Serena Hotel where she was staying.”
Agora CFR raised alarm over the lack of communication and access to Atuhaire since her arrest, writing that “she has not regained her freedom over 72 hours later and attempts by her lawyers, family, and friends to reach her have been futile.”
Signed by Godwin Toko, Deputy Team Leader at Agora CFR, and Annex Atukunda, Atuhaire’s sister, the letter is a direct appeal to Uganda’s diplomatic mission to intervene.
“We request that you urgently provide consular assistance to secure her freedom to travel back to be with her family and young children,” it reads. “We shall be grateful if you use your office to ensure that Agather is freed from detention and returned safely to Uganda.”
The letter was also copied to the Tanzanian High Commission in Uganda, Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs—specifically the Department of Consular Services and the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, underlining the seriousness of the matter.
The detention of Atuhaire, a respected advocate for transparency and digital civic engagement in Uganda, has stirred concern across East Africa, with journalists, civil society actors, and human rights defenders calling for her immediate release.
As regional tensions rise over the arrest, pressure is now mounting on Ugandan authorities to act swiftly and assertively to protect one of their own. Agora CFR insists this is not merely a legal matter, but “a humanitarian and diplomatic issue that requires immediate action.”