Tanzanian rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was kidnapped in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Sunday, Amnesty International and its organization said.
According to Amnesty Kenya, Tsehai was captured by three armed men in a black Toyota Noah in the Kilimani area of Nairobi.
What do we know about Tsehai’s disappearance?
Tsehai, who has 1.3 million followers on X, advocates for political reform, freedom of expression and women’s rights in her country.
She is also a harsh critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Tsehai’s social movement Change Tanzania wrote on Twitter that they believe his “kidnappers” are Tanzanian security agents, “quietly operating beyond Tanzania’s borders… legitimate criticism.”
It added that “their courage to stand up for justice has made them targets, but we will not let their voices be silenced in this moment.”
Tundu Antifas Lisu, leader of Tanzania’s opposition Chadema party, said Tsehai has been living in “exile” in Kenya since 2020.
“We must call on the Kenyan government and all people of goodwill around the world to intervene in every possible capacity to help Maria return safely to her family,” he said.
Stephen Jackson, the United Nations resident coordinator in Kenya, said he was “very concerned” about Tsehai’s alleged abduction.
‘Worrying trend of international repression’
There have been previous reports of foreigners being detained and deported in Kenya without proper legal processes.
In October 2024, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was “deeply concerned” about reports that four Turkish refugees had been abducted in the capital, Nairobi, and were forcibly returned to Turkey.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said the four men were repatriated at the request of the Turkish government.
In November, Uganda said it worked with Kenyan authorities to arrest Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye in Nairobi. They brought him back to Kinshasa to face military trial.
“This is part of a growing and worrying trend of international repression, in which governments are violating human rights beyond their own borders,” Tigre Chaguta, Amnesty International’s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said in a statement.
Kenyan authorities have not yet commented on Tsehai’s disappearance.
Tanzania’s crackdown on dissent
Tanzania’s opposition is accusing the government of cracking down on criticism.
When President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office in 2021, he was initially praised for enhancing democratic freedoms after succeeding his autocratic predecessor, John Magufuli.
But he now faces growing domestic and international criticism about his government’s human rights record.
Rights groups and Western governments have condemned the resurgence of repression, with opposition politicians facing continued arrests, kidnappings and even killings.
Tanzanian authorities have not yet commented on Tsehai’s disappearance.
ess/lo (AFP, DW source)
