from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania Bureau
DAR-ES-SALAAM, (CAJ News) – TANZANIA is clamping down on the human rights community ahead of elections in October.
Amid the ongoing crackdown on opposition activists, this past weekend saw the arrest and detention of some regional activists at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam.
The East Africa Law Society decried the actions against Senior Counsel Martha Karua, formerly a running candidate for the Kenya Vice presidency, and Gloria Kimani, who is a member of the Law Society of Kenya, as well as Lynn Ngugi, a human rights activist.
Ramah Abubakar, President of the East Africa Law Society, announced the organisation’s intention to file a petition before the East Africa Court of Justice against the government of Tanzania, to seek redress for this act and to uphold the sanctity of the East African Community (EAC) Treaty.
“In the meantime we demand that the Tanzanian government clarify its actions, issue a public apology and ensure such violations do not recur,” he said.
I am imploring President Suluhu Samia (Hassan) to intervene and allow entry in the spirit and letter of the EAC Treaty on freedom of movement of all East Africans.”
Hassan (65), Tanzania’s first female president, has been in power since 2021.
Critics accuse her of running the iconic East African country with an iron fist to consolidate the rule of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in power since independence from Britain in 1961.
Tanzania has been credited for assisting the independence of Southern African nations.
– CAJ News