Just a day after former Justice Minister Martha Karua and two Kenyan lawyers were denied entry into Tanzania and deported back home, three more Kenyan activists, including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, have been detained.
Mutunga, who was travelling alongside activist journalist Hanifa Adan and VOCAL Africa CEO Hussein Khalid, was detained on arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport last night. Their passports were confiscated, and they are still waiting for any clear information on the next step.
At around 3am, Hanifa took to social media to lament their plight, revealing that they had travelled to the neighbouring country in solidarity with detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who has a court mention on treason charges later in the day.
"Hello, guys. We’ve been detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport, and we’re not being told why. This is utterly ridiculous and petty. It’s 3am and it’s cold here, damn. I’m here with Willy Mutunga and Hussein Khalid. We all travelled in solidarity with Tundu Lissu, who has a mention in court today," she stated.
In a later post, hours later, the vocal activist-cum-journalist issued an update, revealing that as of 6am, they were still at the deserted airport, cold and hungry, as the airport staff seemingly forgot about them.
"We've been held at Julius Nyerere International Airport since 2am. The terminals are deserted, the floors are cold, and we're hungry. Everyone seems to have gone to sleep, leaving us stranded," she relayed.
"I'm genuinely asking, what is President Samia so afraid of? This situation is utterly absurd."
Meanwhile, Boniface Mwangi, another popular Kenyan activist, who somehow penetrated the border, reported being harassed by Tanzanian authorities from his Dar es Salaam hotel room.
In his first post, at around midnight hours before the detainment of his counterparts, Mwangi reported that his life was in danger as armed, ununiformed individuals purporting to be police officers were outside his door demanding that he open the door. A subsequent video documenting the altercation was also shared.
The armed men eventually left, choosing to wait for him in the lobby, with Mwangi stating that he would only go with them when Tanzanian lawyers attached to the case arrived.
On Sunday, after the detainment of Karua, Gloria Kimani, and Lynn Ngugi, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) leapt into action, assigning an advocate to represent them and threatening legal action if the three were not released unconditionally.
"THRDC, Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) through the Human Rights Committee in collaboration with the East African Law Society (EALS), is actively following up on this matter. We have instructed Advocate Hekima Mwasipu to pursue all necessary legal steps to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the detained advocates," part of THRDC's statement read.
After being held for about six hours without clear communication, Karua and company were deported back to Kenya. The three were also travelling to Tanzania to observe the trial of Tanzania's opposition leader Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
Lissu was arrested in April following a rally where he called for electoral reforms. He is the national chairperson for the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), the main opposition party in Tanzania.
