Kenyan activists detained in Tanzania after Karua row -

By Daisy Okiring

Three prominent Kenyan human rights defenders—former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, journalist Hanifa Adan, and VOCAL Africa CEO Hussein Khalid—were detained late Sunday night, May 18, upon arriving at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Their passports were seized, and they have remained in custody without formal charges or explanations from Tanzanian authorities.

The trio had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is due in court today to face treason charges. Their detention follows the earlier deportation of former Justice Minister Martha Karua, Gloria Kimani, and journalist Lynn Ngugi, raising alarm over the apparent targeting of foreign observers supporting democratic movements in Tanzania.

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At around 3am, Hanifa Adan posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) detailing their situation. “We’ve been held at the airport, it’s freezing, and we’ve received no information. This is both absurd and intimidating,” she wrote. By 6am, she added that they remained cold and hungry in an empty terminal.

Their presence in Tanzania was reportedly to witness legal proceedings involving Lissu, the CHADEMA party chairman, who was arrested in April after calling for electoral reforms. The Tanzanian government has yet to release an official statement explaining the activists’ detention.

Meanwhile, activist Boniface Mwangi, who managed to enter the country separately, reported being harassed in his hotel by men claiming to be police. He shared a video of the tense standoff, refusing to leave his room without the presence of local legal counsel.

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The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), alongside the East African Law Society (EALS), has condemned the incidents and assigned legal representation to pursue the activists’ immediate and unconditional release. Tensions continue to rise, as regional observers question Tanzania’s commitment to human rights and freedom of movement within the East African Community.