Akizungumza mbele ya Tume ya Haki za Binadamu ya Jumuiya ya Ulaya Juni 22, 2026, Agnes Polepole Lerdorf, ametoa wito wa kufanyika kwa uchunguzi huru wa kimataifa kuhusu kutoweka kwa kaka yake, Humphrey Polepole, aliyekuwa Balozi wa Tanzania nchini Cuba anaripotiwa kutekwa mnamo Oktoba 26, 2025, baada ya kukosoa hadharani vitendo vya ufisadi serikalini, dhuluma, na uhuru finyu wa kidemokrasia Tanzania.
Lerdorf alieleza mateso makali na vitisho vinavyoikabili familia yake, akidai kuwa dada yake alitekwa na kushambuliwa kinyama huku mama yake mzazi mwenye umri mkubwa akisumbuliwa mara kwa mara. Alieleza kuwa mashuhuda walihusisha maafisa wa usalama na utekaji nyara wa kaka yake, akibainisha kuwa damu iliachwa eneo la tukio na kwamba tangu usiku huo familia haijapata majibu yoyote wala haki.
Akisisitiza kuwa mkasa wa kaka yake si wa kipekee bali ni sehemu ya wimbi kubwa la ukandamizaji linalowalenga waandishi wa habari, watetezi wa haki za binadamu, na viongozi wa upinzani kote nchini Tanzania, Lerdorf alihimiza Umoja wa Ulaya kuweka suala la haki za binadamu kama sharti kuu katika uhusiano wake wa kidiplomasia na Tanzania. Aidha, aliliomba Bunge hilo kuzingatia uwezekano wa kuweka vikwazo maalum dhidi ya waliohusika ili kulinda wananchi na kusimamia misingi ya sheria.
"Honorable members of the European Parliament, thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Agnes Polepole Lerdorf, I'm Tanzanian living in Denmark, and I stand before you today not merely as a witness, but as a voice for the voiceless, the terrorized, and the exiled. I speak as a sister of a patriot who loved his country too deeply to remain silent.
My brother, Humphrey Polepole, devoted much of his life serving Tanzania. He rose through the ranks of the ruling party and later served as Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba. He believed deeply in his country and his duty of public service. Yet, when he began speaking openly about corruption, injustice, and the growing erosion of democratic freedom, he became a target. The consequences for our family were devastating. My elderly mother was repeatedly harassed, my sister was abducted and brutally assaulted. We live under constant intimidation.
Then, on the night of the 26th of October 2025, my brother was taken. Witnesses have alleged the involvement of security officials. Blood was left behind. Humphrey disappeared. Since that night, we have heard nothing, no answers, no accountability, no justice. Every day my family lives with the agony of not knowing the fate of our loved one. It is cruelty that no family should ever have to endure.
Sadly, Humphrey's case is not an isolated one. Across Tanzania, journalists, opposition figures like Tundu Lissu, human rights defenders, and ordinary citizens have faced intimidation, imprisonment, violence, and enforced disappearance for exercising rights that should belong to every human being. This is not simply a political issue, it is a human one. It concerns dignity, liberty, and the rule of law.
I respectfully ask this Parliament to call for an independent international investigation into the disappearance of Humphrey Polepole and all reported cases of abduction and enforced disappearance in Tanzania. I ask you to demand accountability from the Tanzanian authorities and to ensure that human rights remain central to the European Union's engagement with Tanzania.
And if serious violations continue without investigative consequences, I ask you to consider targeted sanctions against those responsible, not to punish a nation, but to protect its people. The people of Tanzania deserve the same freedom that European rights cherish: the freedom to speak, to participate in public life, and to live without fear.
Today, I ask you to stand with the families who are still waiting for answers, stand with those who have been silenced, stand with those whose loved ones are in thousands and have been confirmed killed by security organs, stand with those who have disappeared, and above all, stand with the Tanzanian people in their pursuit of justice, dignity, and freedom.
My brother's fate remains unknown, but silence must not be the final answer. Until the truth is known, until those responsible are held accountable, and until every family can live without fear, the struggle continues. I ask you today, stand on the side of truth, stand on the side of justice, stand with the people of Tanzania. Thank you."
Lerdorf alieleza mateso makali na vitisho vinavyoikabili familia yake, akidai kuwa dada yake alitekwa na kushambuliwa kinyama huku mama yake mzazi mwenye umri mkubwa akisumbuliwa mara kwa mara. Alieleza kuwa mashuhuda walihusisha maafisa wa usalama na utekaji nyara wa kaka yake, akibainisha kuwa damu iliachwa eneo la tukio na kwamba tangu usiku huo familia haijapata majibu yoyote wala haki.
Akisisitiza kuwa mkasa wa kaka yake si wa kipekee bali ni sehemu ya wimbi kubwa la ukandamizaji linalowalenga waandishi wa habari, watetezi wa haki za binadamu, na viongozi wa upinzani kote nchini Tanzania, Lerdorf alihimiza Umoja wa Ulaya kuweka suala la haki za binadamu kama sharti kuu katika uhusiano wake wa kidiplomasia na Tanzania. Aidha, aliliomba Bunge hilo kuzingatia uwezekano wa kuweka vikwazo maalum dhidi ya waliohusika ili kulinda wananchi na kusimamia misingi ya sheria.
"Honorable members of the European Parliament, thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Agnes Polepole Lerdorf, I'm Tanzanian living in Denmark, and I stand before you today not merely as a witness, but as a voice for the voiceless, the terrorized, and the exiled. I speak as a sister of a patriot who loved his country too deeply to remain silent.
My brother, Humphrey Polepole, devoted much of his life serving Tanzania. He rose through the ranks of the ruling party and later served as Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba. He believed deeply in his country and his duty of public service. Yet, when he began speaking openly about corruption, injustice, and the growing erosion of democratic freedom, he became a target. The consequences for our family were devastating. My elderly mother was repeatedly harassed, my sister was abducted and brutally assaulted. We live under constant intimidation.
Then, on the night of the 26th of October 2025, my brother was taken. Witnesses have alleged the involvement of security officials. Blood was left behind. Humphrey disappeared. Since that night, we have heard nothing, no answers, no accountability, no justice. Every day my family lives with the agony of not knowing the fate of our loved one. It is cruelty that no family should ever have to endure.
Sadly, Humphrey's case is not an isolated one. Across Tanzania, journalists, opposition figures like Tundu Lissu, human rights defenders, and ordinary citizens have faced intimidation, imprisonment, violence, and enforced disappearance for exercising rights that should belong to every human being. This is not simply a political issue, it is a human one. It concerns dignity, liberty, and the rule of law.
I respectfully ask this Parliament to call for an independent international investigation into the disappearance of Humphrey Polepole and all reported cases of abduction and enforced disappearance in Tanzania. I ask you to demand accountability from the Tanzanian authorities and to ensure that human rights remain central to the European Union's engagement with Tanzania.
And if serious violations continue without investigative consequences, I ask you to consider targeted sanctions against those responsible, not to punish a nation, but to protect its people. The people of Tanzania deserve the same freedom that European rights cherish: the freedom to speak, to participate in public life, and to live without fear.
Today, I ask you to stand with the families who are still waiting for answers, stand with those who have been silenced, stand with those whose loved ones are in thousands and have been confirmed killed by security organs, stand with those who have disappeared, and above all, stand with the Tanzanian people in their pursuit of justice, dignity, and freedom.
My brother's fate remains unknown, but silence must not be the final answer. Until the truth is known, until those responsible are held accountable, and until every family can live without fear, the struggle continues. I ask you today, stand on the side of truth, stand on the side of justice, stand with the people of Tanzania. Thank you."
