The United States has imposed a travel ban on a senior Tanzanian police official over alleged involvement in serious human rights abuses, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday.
Rubio said Washington had designated Faustine Jackson Mafwele, a senior official in the Tanzania Police Force, under a U.S. law used to target foreign officials credibly accused of gross violations of human rights.
The designation bars Mafwele from entering the United States. The State Department said the action was linked to allegations that Tanzanian police detained, tortured and sexually assaulted Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan journalist and activist Boniface Mwangi in 2025.
The two activists had travelled to Dar es Salaam to observe court proceedings against Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who was facing treason charges after calling for electoral reforms ahead of the country’s elections.
Rights groups said Atuhaire and Mwangi were held incommunicado, abused and later expelled from Tanzania. Amnesty International and other organisations had called for an urgent investigation into the allegations, describing the case as part of a wider crackdown on dissent and civil society activity.
Mafwele’s designation comes as Tanzania faces growing scrutiny over the treatment of opposition figures, activists and foreign observers. Lissu, a prominent critic of the ruling party and leader of the opposition Chadema party, has accused authorities of using the courts and police to suppress political competition.
The Tanzanian government has previously denied accusations of systematic repression and has said it is acting to protect national security and public order.
The U.S. move does not amount to criminal prosecution, but it publicly names Mafwele as ineligible for entry into the United States and signals Washington’s willingness to use visa restrictions against officials accused of abuses.
Rubio said the United States would continue to promote accountability for human rights violations.