NAIROBI, Kenya, May 18 – People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua was on Sunday deported from Tanzania.
This is after Karua with human rights defenders and lawyers Lynn Ngugi and Gloria Kimani with whom they had travelled with at the invitation of the East Africa Law Society were detained at the Mwalimu Nyerere International Airport.
“Deportation complete! On board KQ flight No 485 for Nairobi,” she stated.
According to Karua, no reason was given on their detention and an immigration official at the airport referred her passport to the supervisor.
“I arrived at Daresalaam Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International airport at nine am , and immigration referred my passport to the supervisor who has kept me waiting for an hour as she consults her superiors,” Karua stated.
The said supervisor kept her waiting for an hour as she “consulted her superiors”, who later denied her entry to Tanzania.
Her deportation came even as Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei announced that the Kenyan mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was looking into the detention.
Sing’Oei said the mission, headed by High Coommissioner of Kenya to Tanzania Isaac Njenga will give an update on the matter.
“Our Mission in Dar es Salaam has reached out to relevant authorities in the United Republic of Tanzania and will be apprising further on the matter shortly,” he stated.
They were to attend court in a case involving Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
The Chadema party chairman was on April 10 charged with treason after his arrest at a public rally where he called for electoral reforms.
Karua has since led a pan-african rights lobby group seeking the release of Lissu and the dropping of the politically motivated charges against him.
Karua, Ngugi and Kimani were set to observe a hearing related to the case against Lissu, scheduled for Monday, May 19, at the Kisutu courts.
