Kenyan senior lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has claimed she has been arrested and detained in Tanzania, together with two colleagues, as she prepared to make an appearance in court by Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Karua, a renowned human rights activist and former presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s running-mate in Kenya’s 2022 presidential election, posted on social media that she was detained at Dar es Salaam’s main international airport on Sunday. Her representative explained to AFP that she was interrogated by Tanzanian authorities for more than three hours and had her passport taken. She was joined by Kenyan lawyer Gloria Kimani and human rights activist Lynn Ngugi, who were also held.
Karua said that the group was being held for deportation. Tanzanian authorities have not made any official pronouncement about the incident.
Human Rights Outcry
The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition denounced the action, referring to it as an “arbitrary arrest” and said it had sent lawyers to fight for their freedom. The coalition was shocked, observing that Karua was earlier cleared to enter the country to present herself for a hearing against Lissu on April 15.
The chief opposition Chadema party leader, Tundu Lissu, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday to answer treason charges. Lissu was detained last month when he led a rally known as “No Reforms, No Election,” calling for democratic reforms before the October election. The government has stopped him from applying for bail since treason is not bailable under Tanzanian law and is punishable by death.
Lissu, a critical voice of the ruling CCM party, recovered in 2017 from an assassination attempt when he was shot 16 times.
His Chadema party is banned from contesting the October elections for not agreeing to a contentious code of conduct for elections. The party accuses the code of being an instrument for muzzling opposition voices, while the electoral commission says it ensures peace and order during elections.
Democracy Under Pressure in Tanzania
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is set to take the CCM into the next election, was initially hailed for strengthening democratic freedoms upon assuming office in 2021. But recent events have reminded some of the repressive methods of her predecessor, John Magufuli something the current administration rejects.
Karua, who also recently established Kenya’s People’s Liberation Party, has represented other East African opposition leaders, such as Uganda’s Kizza Besigye, further raising her profile as an important legal and political voice throughout the region.
