Kenyan lawyers, activists draw attention to Lissu case as Mutunga, two others deported
Undeterred, former Chief Justice David Maraga is also said to have arrived in Dar ahead of the hearing of the case
Kenyan lawyers and activists are putting the Tanzanian government of President Samia Suluhu on the global spotlight over its handling of the treason case against opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
This is after the Tanzanian authorities detained People’s Liberation Party (PLP) Leader Martha Karua and lawyer Gloria Kimani, a Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council member and human rights campaigner Lynn Ngugi for hours at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Saalam for hours before deporting them.
Karua, a senior counsel, and her colleagues had been invited by the East African Law Society (EALS) to observe the case against Lissu.
On Sunday night, former Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga, Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid and fellow human rights defender Hanifa Adan were similarly detained and deported while Boniface Mwangi, another activist, revealed he was holed up at the Serena Hotel after attempts to arrest him by plain clothes police officers, who refused to identify themselves.
Undeterred, former Chief Justice David Maraga is also said to have arrived in Dar ahead of the hearing of the case.
While the Suluhu government appears to be determined to block external scrutiny of the case, which critics say is politically motivated with a view to barring the Chadema leader from challenging her in the upcoming elections, the quest by the Kenyans has attracted global media attention, something she may not have desired.
Condemning the conduct of the authorities, Chadema general secretary John Mnyika said: “The solution to hiding the shame of a false treason case is not to detain foreign lawyers, but to drop the case altogether.”
The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition said it was shocked by the what it called the “arbitrary arrests”, as Karua had been allowed into Tanzania to observe proceedings when Lissu appeared in court on April 15.
Lissu cannot seek bail because he has been charged with treason, a crime for which the maximum sentence is death.
He survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times.
Karua is expected to join Dr Mutunga, Khalid and Hanifa at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where they are scheduled to hold a press conference at 12 pm upon arrival from Dar.
