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Prominent Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was arrested at a hotel in Tanzania, where he had travelled to attend the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, his wife confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.
Mwangi, a well-known figure in Kenya for his outspoken stance against corruption and police brutality, was among several East African activists who journeyed to Tanzania to show support for Lissu during his court appearance on Monday.
Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, led by Lissu, has been barred from contesting the upcoming October elections after continuing to push for electoral reforms.
In a move that raised concerns among human rights groups, several activists, including former Kenyan presidential candidate Martha Karua, were denied entry at the airport and deported prior to the hearing.
“I have been told they are waiting for the government of Tanzania to consult and decide whether to charge him or to deport him,” Mwangi’s wife, Njeri, told AFP, adding that she had been unable to reach her husband since his arrest.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan weighed in on the situation on Monday, declaring that “foreign activists would not be allowed to interfere in the country’s affairs” and instructing the country’s security agencies “not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here.”
According to Njeri, Mwangi was taken from the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam along with Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire. They were reportedly held overnight at the city’s central police station, a detail confirmed to AFP by Mwangi’s lawyer, Jebra Kambole.
The detentions have fueled concern among regional civil society groups, who view the incident as part of a broader pattern of democratic backsliding across East Africa.
In Uganda, opposition leader Kizza Besigye is also facing treason charges under similarly controversial circumstances, after allegedly being abducted in Kenya and taken across the border.
Karua, who is representing Besigye in court, travelled to Uganda on Tuesday ahead of his latest hearing. She later confirmed in a social media post that her arrival went smoothly, writing: “entry was without a hitch.”
