Activist Boniface Mwangi has claimed that his life is in danger after armed men who said they were police officers tried to force him out of his hotel room in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, without showing identification.

 The incident occurred around 1 a.m. on Monday, May 19, at Serena Hotel in the Tanzanian capital, just hours after Kenya’s People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua and two other Kenyan delegates were arrested and deported.

 In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mwangi said he refused to open the door to the men, who were in civilian clothes and armed. He demanded they identify themselves before complying.

 “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. They will have to break the door to remove me here. I’m not going to open it,” said Mwangi.

 He also shared a video showing one of the men outside asking him to go to the reception area, insisting cameras were recording everything.

 “Shuka hapa uone tunakuita reception, kila mtu anaona, camera zinaona,” the man said.

 “So nitakuwa safe?” Mwangi asked.

 “More than safe, yaani wewe una shida gani?” the man replied.

 Mwangi remained unconvinced and demanded the men leave or identify themselves. Another man, who said his name was Robinson and claimed to work at the hotel, tried to reassure him, but Mwangi asked him to slide his identification card under the door. Robinson did not comply.

 “The unidentified armed men have left my door. I’m informed they have moved to the hotel lobby. My bags are packed, and I’m ready to go with those people when the Tanzanian lawyers who are following up on this matter arrive. For now, I will stay put. Thank you for the solidarity,” he said in a later update around 2 a.m.

 In the video, Mwangi said he believed the attempt to enter his room was politically motivated.

 “I’m scared of my life because there are a lot of abductions in this country, a lot of executions in this country, and people are in jail for opposing (President) Suluhu’s dictatorship, that’s why I can’t open the door,” noted  Mwangi.

 The incident came a day after Karua, Law Society of Kenya Council member Gloria Kimani, and Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network member Lynn Ngugi were detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport and later deported. They had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.