Tanzanian Member of Parliament Jesca Msambatavangu has accused Kenyan youths of cyberbullying her through a barrage of text messages and phone calls.
According to the legislator, her phone was flooded on Monday with messages and calls allegedly from Kenyan youths after she criticised Kenyan activists for interfering in Tanzania's internal affairs.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon during a parliamentary session, Msambatavangu disclosed that most of the messages came via WhatsApp, forcing her to temporarily switch devices.
She claimed that the harassment began after her phone number was leaked by unknown individuals and widely circulated on various social media platforms.
Upon receiving the lawmaker’s private phone number, curious youths did not hesitate to send text messages and make numerous calls, disrupting the MP’s usual communications.
Attempts to stop the unauthorised messages and incoming calls proved futile, forcing the beleaguered lawmaker to address some of the relentless online attackers.
To mitigate the attacks, Msambatavangu urged the youths to form a WhatsApp group and invite her to address their concerns — a request that was blatantly ignored.
“I want Kenyans to hear me, I stopped chatting with them because I am still inside parliament, but we will continue after this, to all those who are abusing me,” said Msambatavangu.
“I want to tell the Gen Zs who are abusing to create a WhatsApp group and add me, I will be busy with them today and tomorrow, and on Thursday, I will answer you on a live session,” she added.
The online attack comes on the back of harsh criticism by Tanzanian MPs against Kenyans. The legislators on Monday, May 26, asked President William Ruto to take action against Kenyans who were disrespecting their country's Head of State, Samia Suluhu.
During their parliamentary session, the MPs also questioned why People's Liberation Party (PLP) Martha Karua was never punished by the country's authorities for allegedly interfering with their affairs.
"We made a mistake by sending Martha Karua back there, and this mistake should not happen again here. How can someone come from there and bring their ignorance here and then supposedly be returned safe and sound?" said Pandani MP Maryam Omar.
Maryam and her colleagues' comments attracted wild reactions from Kenyans who did not hesitate to clap back through online trolls, sparking a bitter exchange between the two countries.
