Kenyan politician Martha Karua denied entry into Tanzania #rwanda #RwOT

The renowned lawyer shared the development on her official X account, saying they were detained and set for deportation.

"I have been denied entry into Tanzania and I and two colleagues are awaiting deportation at Mwalimu Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam."

The two others detained with her are Gloria Kimani, a council member of the Law Society of Kenya, and Lynn Ngugi, a human rights advocate.

Awaiting deportation after retrieving our bags with ⁦@ngugi_lynn⁩ ⁦@gloria_kimani⁩ pic.twitter.com/vravSNhF2C

â€" Martha Karua SC (@MarthaKarua) May 18, 2025

According to Karua, all three were guests of the East Africa Law Society (EALS). They were scheduled to attend a court session related to Lissu's ongoing treason case.

Karua detailed the sequence of events upon arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport at 9:00 a.m., explaining that her passport was referred to a supervisor who kept her waiting for over an hour while consulting superiors. She was later informed that entry had been denied without explanation.

'The supervisor has now informed us that our entry into Tanzania has been denied. No reasons given,' she posted.

Karua voiced concern over the apparent restriction of her freedom of movement within the East African Community (EAC), saying,

'I am concerned that as a citizen of EAC, my access within a @jumuiya country appears inexplicably restricted.'

Lissu was charged with treason in April, a day after being arrested following a political rally in southern Tanzania.

The charges stem from his 'No Reforms, No Election' campaign, which calls for sweeping electoral reforms ahead of Tanzania's general elections scheduled for October.

Karua has been a vocal advocate for Lissu's release and recently took on a leadership role in a pan-African rights lobby group calling for the charges against him to be dropped, labelling them politically motivated. She is also among the lawyers representing Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is facing similar charges in the neighbouring country.

Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and has been in and out of exile, is among those expected to challenge President Samia Suluhu Hassan in the upcoming polls.

President Suluhu rose to power in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

By the time of going to press, Tanzanian authorities had not issued any official statement regarding the decision to deny Karua and her colleagues entry into the country.

Kenyan politician and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has revealed that she was denied entry into Tanzania on Sunday morning, along with two colleagues, while en route to observe a court hearing involving Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Wycliffe Nyamasege

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/kenyan-politician-martha-karua-denied-entry-into-tanzania