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Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Tanzanian police dump ‘severely tortured' activist on border as state slides back into authoritarianism
Something is rotten in the state of Tanzania. Despite promising to walk back the worst of former president John Magufuli's autocratic tendencies, following his death from Covid-19 and her ascension to the top job in 2021, Tanzanian leader Samia Suluhu Hassan has slipped right back into the dictator's mould. This week, as her fiercest opponent went on trial for treason, foreign activists travelling to Dar es Salaam to support him were detained and deported. Two of them were tortured in police custody and one is still missing. A prominent Kenyan activist was dumped at a remote border post by Tanzanian security agents on Thursday, after having been detained for days and tortured at Dar es Salaam Central Prison, alongside his Ugandan colleague. She is still missing. Photojournalist and opposition politician Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan human rights lawyer Agather Atuhaire were arrested shortly after entering the country on 18 May to attend the first court hearing of opposition politician Tundu Antiphas Lissu. Atuhaire has not been heard from since, but Mwangi said she was tortured at the prison as well. Lissu, the leader and former presidential candidate of the Chadema party, was charged with treason in early April following a political rally at which he called for election reform in the run-up to October's polls. The charge carries the death penalty in Tanzania. 'There is no legal case against Lissu,' said his younger brother, Ikoti Lissu, who is also a member of his legal team. 'Boycotting an election, campaigning for reforms – how can that become a treason charge? The president should not be allowed to appoint electoral commission officials,' the younger Lissu said. Foreign supporters detained, disappeared Mwangi and Atuhaire were part of a delegation of East African opposition leaders and human rights defenders who travelled to Dar es Salaam on 18 May to attend and observe Lissu's first court hearing. They were the only two allowed to enter the country. Several of their colleagues – Kenyan human rights defender Hussein Khalid, lawyer Martha Karua, former Kenyan chief justice Willy Mtunga, activists Lini Ngingi and Gloria Kimani and journalist Hania Safia Adan – were detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport. They were deported hours later. On the same day as Lissu's hearing, during the launch of the country's new foreign policy, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan issued a warning to foreign activists that the country 'cannot be a place where anyone feels entitled to say whatever they want about Tanzania'. 'There is a growing trend of activists from regional blocs attempting to meddle in our affairs,' Suluhu said from the stage. 'If they are restricted in their own countries, they should not be allowed to cause disorder here.' Mwangi is no stranger to the risks of speaking truth to power. His photojournalism and activism against government corruption and oppression in Kenya – and the heavy-handed response he and his family experience in return – were documented in the award-winning 2020 film, Softie. A thorn in CCM's side Lissu returned home in 2023 following several years in exile and recovery. As a member of parliament, in 2017 he narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Dodoma in which he was shot 16 times by gunmen, who strafed his vehicle with assault rifles outside his official residence. Lissu, who had 19 surgical operations, steadfastly maintains the men were hired by then-president John Magufuli's CCM party. Attempts to contact the spokesperson for CCM and the president's office went unanswered by the time of publication. Immediately picking up the campaign trail for Chadema upon his return, Lissu was arrested within months, on the first of several occasions. Government officials said he was encouraging the public to rebel and disrupt elections. Lissu is being held at Ukonga Maximum Security Prison. At his first appearance at the Kisutu Resident Magistrates' Court on Monday, he was surrounded by at least six prison officers in the dock, prompting the judge to direct them to let him appear freely. An earlier decision to hold the hearing online was struck down, and the case was postponed to 2 June – in open court – to allow prosecutors time to finalise their case. Chadema has been banned from contesting the 2025 presidential and parliamentary elections. 'Initially when [president] Suluhu took over, she came up with lots of rhetoric about reforms,' said Chadema director of foreign affairs and the diaspora, John Kitoka. 'But she is turning out to be just as bad as Magufuli. It's the same script.' '[President Suluhu's address] was a declaration of war on free speech, human rights defenders and activists for democracy. We should brace for a new wave of abductions, forced disappearances and killings, because her statement was an endorsement of such extrajudicial crimes,' Kitoka said. The same script Suluhu came into power promising increased freedom of speech and political contestation in the wake of Magufuli's hard authoritarian regime. A steadfast Covid-19 denier, Magufuli died from the disease in March 2021, after instructing citizens to pray or inhale herb-infused steam to protect themselves. Lissu was Magufuli's most vocal critic, and continues to criticise Suluhu's CCM in the same manner. In the lead-up to elections, attacks on Chadema have ramped up once again. In September 2024, a prominent party member, Ali Mohamed Kibau, was forced off a bus, his body later found severely beaten and doused in acid. A worrisome part of the problem is the lack of judicial independence, said Ikoti Lissu. 'Judges are appointed by the president,' he said. 'The intention here is to keep Lissu in custody, without bail, [at least] until the election is over. 'But Tundu is a straightforward person. He's a guy who likes justice. The only choice they have is to intimidate him,' Lissu said. Activists' families call for information On Thursday, the families of Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire said they had become deeply concerned for the activists' safety and called on the Kenyan government to intervene. On Friday morning, Mwangi's lawyer, James WaNjeri, received news that he had been 'dumped at one of the coastal border points, severely tortured'. After managing to make contact with his wife, Njeri, Mwangi was rescued by a human rights group in the area, said WaNjeri. His feet and legs were severely beaten and he struggled to walk. Mwangi has been taken to a medical facility for treatment in Nairobi. Atuhaire is presumed to still be in police custody. The status of her health and wellbeing is unknown. DM
CNN
19-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Tanzanian opposition leader appears in court for treason trial
Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu told his supporters to have no fear as he appeared in court on Monday for the first time since his arrest on charges that include treason. Lissu refused to participate in a hearing on April 24 because authorities conducted a virtual, rather than an in-person trial, with him appearing via video link from prison. On Monday he entered the court with his fist raised in the air as supporters chanted 'No Reforms, No Election,' according to a video of the courtroom shared by his CHADEMA party on X. 'We will be fine. You should not fear,' Lissu said as he took his place in the dock, waving victory signs. Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was charged with treason last month over what prosecutors said was a speech calling upon the public to rebel and disrupt elections due in October. A series of high-profile arrests has highlighted the rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who plans to seek re-election. Hassan says the government is committed to respecting human rights. Lissu's CHADEMA party has demanded changes to an electoral process they say favors the ruling party before they participate in the ballot. Several Kenyan rights activists, including a former justice minister, said they were denied entry to Tanzania as they traveled to attend the trial. Kenya's former Justice Minister Martha Karua, a prominent lawyer and opposition politician, and former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga were among those detained when they landed at Tanzania's Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, they said on X. Tanzania's immigration spokesperson Paul Mselle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'Today was going to be a big day and we went out there in solidarity,' Karua told Kenyan broadcaster NTV on Monday after she was denied entry and sent back to Nairobi. 'The state cannot be used as a personal tool. You cannot deport people whom you don't like, who are not aligned to your views.' Mutunga and rights activist Hussein Khalid were being held in an interrogation room at Julius Nyerere airport on Monday and expected to be deported, Khalid said on X.
eNCA
18-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Kenyan politician, lawyer for Tanzania opposition leader arrested
Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, a presidential candidate who also represents opposition figures on trial in neighbouring countries, was arrested in Tanzania on Sunday, a spokesperson told AFP. Karua has been representing Tanzanian opposition leader Tindu Lissu, who is on trial for treason and faces a possible death penalty. Lissu is due in court on Monday. The trial comes as Tanzania prepares for elections in October. Karua "was detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, questioned for three hours, her passport was confiscated and she is awaiting deportation", the spokesperson said. A former justice minister in Kenya, Karua has been vocal about "democratic backsliding" in the East Africa region. She has also been representing Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was kidnapped in Kenya last year and taken back to his home country to also face treason charges. Uganda holds elections in January. "What we are seeing is total erosion of democratic principles in the three countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda," Karua told AFP in an interview earlier this month. "All these countries now have become dangerous, not just to others but to their own nationals. I tie this to the forthcoming elections," she said. She accused the leadership of the three countries of "collaborating". "It's a pattern," she said. "They are neutering the opposition ahead of elections." Karua launched the People's Liberation Party in February, vowing to engage with youths as she prepares a run for the presidency in 2027. She faces competition from an array of opposition leaders in the country, all hoping to take on President William Ruto, whose popularity was undermined by mass protests last year over tax rises and corruption. - 'Total disarray' - In the 2022 election, Karua was the running mate of Raila Odinga, who lost out to Ruto. Kenya is in "total disarray," she told AFP in the interview this month. "It's as if our constitution has been suspended. We have abductions, arbitrary arrests... extrajudicial killings... And the police and authorities fail to take responsibility," she said. Rights groups say at least 60 Kenyans were killed during the protests in June and July, and more than 80 abducted by security forces since then, with dozens still missing. Police deny involvement. Ruto told reporters last week that all those abducted in the wake of anti-government protests "have been brought back to their families... and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again." Meanwhile in Tanzania, Lissu's party Chadema was disqualified from the coming elections after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct. It had demanded electoral reforms, accusing President Samia Suluhu Hassan of returning to the repressive tactics of the country's recent past. And last week in Uganda, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also son and heir-apparent to the long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, threatened voters who did not back their party. "(People) who do not support Mzee wholeheartedly better be very careful!" Kainerugaba wrote on X, using an honorific for his father.
Eyewitness News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Kenyan lawyer for Tanzania opposition leader arrested: spokesperson
NAIROBI, KENYA - Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, a presidential candidate who also represents opposition figures on trial in neighbouring countries, was arrested in Tanzania on Sunday, a spokesperson told AFP. Karua has been representing Tanzanian opposition leader Tindu Lissu who is on trial for treason, facing a possible death penalty, and is due in court on Monday. The trial comes as Tanzania prepares for elections in October. Karua "was detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, questioned for three hours, her passport was confiscated and she is awaiting deportation", a spokesperson told AFP. A former justice minister in Kenya, Karua has been vocal about "democratic backsliding" in the East Africa region. She has also been representing Ugandan opposition Kizza Besigye, who was kidnapped in Kenya last year and taken back to his home country to also face treason charges. Uganda holds elections in January.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kenyan politician, lawyer for Tanzania opposition leader arrested
Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, a presidential candidate who also represents opposition figures on trial in neighbouring countries, was arrested in Tanzania on Sunday, a spokesperson told AFP. Karua has been representing Tanzanian opposition leader Tindu Lissu, who is on trial for treason and faces a possible death penalty. Lissu is due in court on Monday. The trial comes as Tanzania prepares for elections in October. Karua "was detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, questioned for three hours, her passport was confiscated and she is awaiting deportation", the spokesperson said. A former justice minister in Kenya, Karua has been vocal about "democratic backsliding" in the East Africa region. She has also been representing Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was kidnapped in Kenya last year and taken back to his home country to also face treason charges. Uganda holds elections in January. "What we are seeing is total erosion of democratic principles in the three countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda," Karua told AFP in an interview earlier this month. "All these countries now have become dangerous, not just to others but to their own nationals. I tie this to the forthcoming elections," she said. She accused the leadership of the three countries of "collaborating". "It's a pattern," she said. "They are neutering the opposition ahead of elections." Karua launched the People's Liberation Party in February, vowing to engage with youths as she prepares a run for the presidency in 2027. She faces competition from an array of opposition leaders in the country, all hoping to take on President William Ruto, whose popularity was undermined by mass protests last year over tax rises and corruption. - 'Total disarray' - In the 2022 election, Karua was the running mate of Raila Odinga, who lost out to Ruto. Kenya is in "total disarray," she told AFP in the interview this month. "It's as if our constitution has been suspended. We have abductions, arbitrary arrests... extrajudicial killings... And the police and authorities fail to take responsibility," she said. Rights groups say at least 60 Kenyans were killed during the protests in June and July, and more than 80 abducted by security forces since then, with dozens still missing. Police deny involvement. Ruto told reporters last week that all those abducted in the wake of anti-government protests "have been brought back to their families... and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again." Meanwhile in Tanzania, Lissu's party Chadema was disqualified from the coming elections after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct. It had demanded electoral reforms, accusing President Samia Suluhu Hassan of returning to the repressive tactics of the country's recent past. And last week in Uganda, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also son and heir-apparent to the long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, threatened voters who did not back their party. "(People) who do not support Mzee wholeheartedly better be very careful!" Kainerugaba wrote on X, using an honorific for his father. "We will deport all the traitors in public view!" he added. er/js
