The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has demanded that the government of Kenya write to their counterparts in Tanzania seeking clarification on why members of the council, led by Senior Counsel Martha Karua, were detained and deported back to the country on Sunday morning.
Speaking exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke, LSK President Faith Odhiambo, observed that the government should write a protest letter to the neighbouring country, indicating that the development could jeopardise the diplomatic relations.
''We demand that the government should reach out to the Tanzanian counterparts with immediate effect since we have diplomatic relations that are anchored on an agreement,'' Odhiambo stated.
''We believe that there should be ultimately no valid reason as to why our members who are members of the EAC community and the bar can be detained without any explanation.''
Odhiambo further stated that the decision by Tanzania was uncalled for, insisting that there should be free movement of persons within the East African Community.
She also called on Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei to urgently intervene in the matter to ensure justice is served.
''It is quite unfortunate that, though we should be enjoying free movement of persons within the East African region, Kenyans can be detained for merely being lawyers. I hope Sing'Oei Korir can urgently intervene," she added.
Former president of LSK Nelson Havi also condemned the incident, questioning the purpose of the EAC and urging President William Ruto to take up the matter with Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu.
Further, Havi urged the government to expel the Tanzanian Ambassador to Kenya, should the necessary steps to correct the anomaly not be addressed.
"What is the purpose of the East African Community if Martha Karua is denied entry into Tanzania to practise law and is instead deported? This is a matter that President William Ruto ought to take up with President Samia Suluhu, and if unresolved, expel the Tanzanian ambassador," Havi stated.
Earlier, Karua decried being denied entry into the neighbouring Tanzania alongside other human rights defenders and lawyers, Lynn Ngugi and Gloria Kimani.
Taking to social media on Sunday morning, the vocal opposition member claimed that her passport had been taken and referred to a supervisor at the Julius Nyerere International Airport, and she had been held for over an hour.
Karua was in Tanzania to follow up on the detention of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
Following the developments, Kenya could consider issuing a diplomatic protest note to Tanzania, formally requesting clarification over the detention and deportation of the LSK delegation. Such action, known as a demarche, is a recognised diplomatic tool used to register a state's discontent and seek redress or explanation from a fellow government.
Under international and regional frameworks — particularly the EAC Treaty and Protocol on the Establishment of the Common Market — the government may also explore whether the deportations breached the guaranteed right to free movement of persons within the bloc. If so, the matter could potentially be raised before the EAC Council of Ministers or escalated to the East African Court of Justice.
