Kenya has issued a formal call for the immediate release of former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and two Kenyan human rights activists detained in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei made the appeal on Monday, voicing growing concern over what appears to be a crackdown on Kenyan legal observers and civil society representatives who had traveled to witness the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Mutunga was arrested early Monday at Julius Nyerere International Airport along with Hanifa Adan and Hussein Khalid, both well-known human rights defenders associated with HAKI Africa and MUHURI.
The trio had traveled to Tanzania to monitor court proceedings against Lissu, a vocal critic of President Samia Suluhu’s administration. Lissu faces treason charges tied to his controversial ‘No Reform, No Elections’ campaign.
The arrests come amid mounting tensions and apparent hostility toward Kenyan observers.
Just hours before Mutunga’s detention, Tanzanian authorities deported former Kenyan Minister for Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua, lawyer Gloria Kimani, and human rights campaigner Lynn Ngugi.
“We strongly urge the authorities in Tanzania to release the former Chief Justice of Kenya and his delegation in line with the principles of the East African Community,” said Sing’oei.
