Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, along with civil society actors Hussein Khalid and Hanifa Adan were denied entry at Julius Nyerere International Airport earlier this week.
Kenyan human rights activists, including a former justice minister, were denied entry to Tanzania over the weekend and on Monday 19, as they travelled to attend the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was charged with treason last month over what prosecutors said was a ‘speech calling upon the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October.’
A recent string of high-profile arrests has thrust the rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who plans to seek reelection, into the spotlight. Hassan says the government is committed to respecting human rights.
Lissu’s CHADEMA party has demanded significant changes to an electoral process they say favours the ruling party before they participate in the ballot.
Lissu appeared in court for the first time since his arrest on Monday morning, with his fist raised in the air as supporters chanted “No Reforms, No Election, according to a video of the courtroom shared by CHADEMA on X.
“We will reach there… we will be fine. You should not fear,” Lissu said as he took his seat.
Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua, a prominent lawyer and opposition politician, and at least two others were detained when they landed at Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dares Salaam and sent back to Nairobi, they said on X.
Tanzania’s immigration spokesperson Paul Mselle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Today was going to be a big day and we went out there in solidarity,” Karua told local broadcast N’TV on Monday. “The state cannot be used as a personal tool. You cannot deport people whom you don’t like, who are not aligned to your views.”
Other human rights activists who have not been spared include Kenya’s Boniface Mwangi and Uganda’s Agather Atuhaire who by press time are being detained in Tanzania. The two had also traveled to attend Tundu Lissu’s court session.
President Samia Suluhu’s Response
In response to the growing regional concern, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu issued a stern warning, stating she would not allow activists from neighboring Kenya to “destabilise” Tanzania.
“We should not give a chance for them to destroy our country,” President Suluhu said in a statement. “We will not give a chance to any creature to come and destroy us, whether it comes from within or without our borders.”
President Suluhu said, “Those who have spoiled their countries should not cross over to Tanzania to spread their bad manners here. We will not give space to anyone trying to destabilise us.”
Critics, however, see her remarks as part of an escalating crackdown on civil liberties.
“What I am doing is protecting my country, which is the key mandate I was given,” The East African quoted President Suluhu who defended the deportations and detentions.
Other Players
As of publication, Tanzanian authorities have not issued a formal statement explaining the basis for the arrest or the charges, if any, facing the two activists, Atuhaire and Mwangi.
Civil society groups are now calling on President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government to respect international human rights obligations and East African Community protocols on freedom of expression and movement.
“Injustice to one is injustice to all, a post circulating on X under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceAndAgather read.
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