Activists Hussein Khalid and Hanifa Adan, and former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga were detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam upon their arrival to observe legal proceedings involving Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu.
In a series of social media posts on Monday morning, May 19, Khalid said they had traveled to Tanzania as a show of solidarity with local lawyers and human rights defenders.
“Willy Mutunga, Hanifa Adan, and I have been detained at Julius Nyerere Airport, Dar es Salaam, as we came in for the observance of Tundu Lissu’s case.
"The trip was in solidarity with Tanzanian lawyers and human rights defenders. They have not given reasons for the detention," he said in one of his updates.
According to Khalid, the three were escorted to an interrogation room inside the airport and told to wait for a senior officer.
Read More
“Following our detention, we’ve been brought to the interrogation room. They’ve told us to wait here for their senior officer – I guess the chief interrogator! We still don’t have our passports, nor do we know why we’re being detained," he added.
In a separate statement, Hanifa described the difficult conditions under which they were being held, also calling out President Samia Suluhu.
“We've been held at Julius Nyerere International Airport since 2 AM. The terminals are deserted, the floors are cold, and we're hungry. Everyone seems to have gone to sleep, leaving us stranded.
"I'm genuinely asking, what is President Samia so afraid of? This situation is utterly absurd," she stated.
Hanifa also put up an update noting that there were plans to deport the three to Kenya.
The three have suffered the same fate as People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader and Senior Counsel Martha Karua, who was on Sunday, May 18, denied entry into Tanzania and subsequently deported to Kenya.
In a statement, she said her passport was seized, and kept waiting alongside her colleagues, Gloria Kimani and Lynn Ngugi.
"The immigration officer referred my passport to the supervisor, who kept me waiting for an hour as she consulted her superiors. I am concerned that as a citizen of the East African Community (EAC)," she said.
Karua said the authorities did not explain the reason behind the detention and the seizure of the travel documents.
"The supervisor has now informed us that our entry to Tanzania has been denied; no reasons given," she said.
Karua was also in Tanzania to attend the legal proceedings of Lissu, who was charged with treason after his arrest at a public rally in which he called for electoral reforms.
