Tanzania MPs’ comments on activist deportation irks Kenyan lawmakers

A section of Kenyan lawmakers has reacted to their Tanzanian counterparts’ Monday comments regarding the controversial deportation of East African lawyers and activists who travelled to Dar es Salaam for opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s treason trial.

Among those deported were PLP Kenya leader and former Justice Minister Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council member Gloria Kimani, as well as activists Lynn Ngugi, Hanifa Adan, and Hussein Khalid.

Meanwhile, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and his Ugandan colleague Agather Atuhaire were arrested, held incommunicado, and reportedly tortured for days before being dumped near the Tanzanian border.

Tanzanian MPs on Monday backed President Samia Suluhu Hassan amid criticism for her comments that the rights campaigners attempted to interfere in the country’s affairs and should not be tolerated.

The Members of Parliament criticized what they described as an “imported activism” campaign aimed at sowing chaos and instability in Tanzania and called for stricter security checks on individuals entering the country.

In response, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has vowed to respond just as hard, saying that Tuesday’s Senate session should be conducted in Swahili so their Tanzanian counterparts can understand them.

“Kesho italazim Kiswahili tu bungeni ili wenzetu wa Tanzania watupate kwa njia ya uhakiki,” Sifuna wrote on X.

Karua herself reposted a video of MP Maryam Omar Zaid in which she argued Karua and her colleagues should have been “dealt with once and for all,” instead of deporting them.

She tagged Suluhu, her CCM party, and the East African Community in the post, writing, “For your attention.”

During Monday’s session in the Tanzanian parliament, Geita MP Joseph Musukuma declared, “We in Tanzania have nothing to learn from Kenya—absolutely nothing. We surpass them in politics, intelligence, and everything else. And the English language is not our priority. We have no quarrel with ordinary Kenyans, only with these activists.”

Singida West MP Elibariki Immanuel Kingu echoed similar sentiments, saying, “Some of these Kenyan activists have forgotten that this is not a lawless nation. When they were facing internal conflict a few years ago, it was Tanzania that stood by them and helped maintain peace.”

The lawmakers also condemned online mockery and criticism of President Suluhu by Kenyan social media users.

Iringa Central MP Jesca Msambatavangu strongly defended the country’s youth, saying, “Tanzania’s Gen Z is awake and aware. We’ve raised our youth with patriotism, courage, and resilience. They won’t join forces with reckless outsiders who insult others online.”

Responding to international criticism of President Suluhu’s leadership—particularly accusations of authoritarianism and suppression of opposition voices—MPs dismissed these claims as misguided and unfounded.

They insisted that Tanzania’s sovereignty must be respected and that the country will not tolerate foreign interference disguised as activism.