CHADEMA leaders escape Tanzania to Kenya amid rising threats and abductions
Facing raids, abductions, and threats to their lives, Tanzanian CHADEMA leaders have crossed into Kenya seeking urgent protection.
A group of Tanzanian opposition leaders and supporters from the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) party has fled to Kenya, seeking political asylum amid what they describe as intensifying persecution and threats to their lives.
The group arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, and is being hosted by Kenyan lawyer George Wajackoyah, who says he represents CHADEMA.
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The asylum seekers claim that Tanzania’s political environment has sharply deteriorated in recent months, leaving many opposition figures vulnerable to harassment, abductions, and killings. Rose Mayemba, a CHADEMA committee member among those who fled, described the situation as dire and unsafe for anyone perceived to oppose the government.
“On Date 1, and then on Date 2, there were large-scale killings in our country,” Mayemba told journalists.
Young men killed
She alleged that both uniformed police and plainclothes officers have conducted targeted raids, sometimes killing young men simply for their political affiliations.
“Walikuwa hawaui watu tu ambao wameandamana, kulikuwa na polisi na watu ambao wamevalia nguo ya kawaida wanaenda vyumba vya watu wanagonga mlango mnatoka nje, ukikutwa ni kijana unauawa, ni zaidi ya maandamano,” Mayemba said.
Her account echoes widespread fears within Tanzania’s opposition, particularly after treason charges against CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu were postponed earlier this week, sparking anxiety among his supporters.
John Pambalu, CHADEMA’s Director of Training, also expressed grave concern, condemning what he described as a brutal government campaign to silence dissent.
Blood-soaked battlefield
“It is terrifying to see a nation that was once peaceful turn into a blood-soaked battlefield,” Pambalu said. “Since President Samia Suluhu came to power, hundreds of Tanzanian youths have been abducted and killed in cold blood.”
The asylum seekers are now appealing to the Kenyan government and the international community for protection, warning that many more opposition members back home remain in danger.
UN Refugee Convention
Wajackoyah, who is hosting several of the leaders, cited the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Convention), noting that these instruments allow individuals facing persecution to seek asylum when they cannot obtain protection in their home country.
Wajackoyah also recalled representing CHADEMA leaders, including Tundu Lissu, during past political arrests in Tanzania, and expressed gratitude to the late Raila Odinga for helping secure his own release in earlier years.
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“As you know, the situation in Tanzania has become volatile. I therefore act both as a lawyer and leader of the Roots Party in Kenya to bring to the realisation of the world that, at this particular time and moment, Africa should not be having issues of refugee matters,” said Wajackoyah.
The arrival of CHADEMA leaders in Nairobi underscores growing international concern over Tanzania’s political climate.
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