Arusha – Police here confirmed Tuesday that human rights and social justice activist Godlisten Elisante Malisa was detained after arriving at the Tanzanian side of the Namanga border post on August 31, ending hours of uncertainty over his whereabouts. 

In a statement published on September 1, Arusha Regional Police said Malisa and another person were arrested on the night of August 31 over “criminal allegations under investigation.” It said they were questioned and released on bail while other legal procedures were completed.

The announcement was the first official confirmation after Malisa’s lawyer, Dickson Matata, and his friend James Mbowe said he had been removed from Namanga and could not initially be located. 

The police statement does not identify the second person, describe the allegations, cite a case or investigation number, or explain what further legal procedure is pending.

Malisa, speaking at a press conference after his release, said he had spent the night in a holding cell at the Diplomacy and Tourism Police Station in Arusha. He disputed the police description that he had been questioned and released on bail.

READ MORE: Lawyer Says Activist Godlisten Malisa Was Taken From Namanga Border Post

“I was not bailed out, nor did I post bail myself,” Malisa said. “I was not investigated for any criminal charges [and] I did not write any statement related to any criminal charges.”

He said officers asked him to write down the sequence of events from Namanga to Arusha. He said he was not charged, asked about a previous case, questioned on a new allegation or shown material that police said was unlawful.

Malisa said his phone, money, luggage and other belongings were returned when he left the station on the morning of September 1.

Journey through Namanga

Malisa said he had been travelling from the United States to Kilimanjaro through Nairobi when industrial action at Kenyan airports prevented his onward flight. He said he arranged to travel by road and arrived at Namanga, the border post between Kenya and Tanzania, on August 31.

According to Malisa, he completed immigration formalities on the Kenyan side but Tanzanian officials said his passport could not be read by their system and asked him to wait. Matata said in an August 31 statement that Malisa was later removed in a white double cab vehicle by people who were not in police uniform.

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Malisa said five people who identified themselves as police officers took him from the border. He said they told him they were taking him to Longido Police Station, but drove him instead to the Diplomacy and Tourism Police Station in Arusha, where he remained until the next morning.

He said he was not beaten, threatened or otherwise mistreated during the journey or in the station. “There was no harassment at all,” Malisa told reporters, adding that the officers had initially been courteous.

Before the police statement, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), alongside many other actors, called on police and immigration authorities to confirm Malisa’s location, state the grounds for his detention and ensure he could communicate with family and counsel.

A digital campaigner

Malisa is a digital campaigner whose work combines human rights and social justice advocacy, public-health communication and online appeals for people in need. He is executive director of GH Foundation, and his Instagram account had about 932,000 followers when reviewed on Tuesday.

His account has been used to circulate missing-person notices, requests for medical assistance and civic commentary. The U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam said in September 2025 that he had been selected for its International Visitor Leadership Program under the New Media Voices programme.

READ MORE: Pressure Mounts Over the Fate of Missing  Activist Deusdedith Soka and His Two Colleagues 

In 2024, Malisa and former Ubungo mayor Boniface Jacob were charged with publishing false information under the Cybercrimes Act over posts concerning the death of Robert Mushi, widely known as Babu G. Both denied wrongdoing.

Malisa was also detained and questioned in Kilimanjaro in June 2024 over Instagram posts before being released on bail. 

Gratitude

During his press conference, Malisa thanked people who had publicly demanded information about him while he was being held. 

He said he had been told after his release that Tanzanians had “raised their voices very loudly,” and added that the response might have contributed to his being able to speak publicly that morning.

The activist linked that response to concerns about reported abductions and disappearances. 

He said that when officers said they would take him to Longido but he was instead held in Arusha, while his lawyer was initially unable to establish his location, “in normal circumstances, a person could simply disappear like that.”

Malisa said the episode led him to consider the position of people without his public profile. Invoking the biblical phrase, “If they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry tree?,” he said that if he could be held and released without being told an allegation, questions arose about how other people might be treated by law-enforcement authorities.