Kenyan detainees recount harrowing ordeal during Tanzanian election protest crackdown

Beatings, hunger and forced isolation are some of the horrors two Kenyans endured during eight days of detention in Tanzania after last month’s disputed elections.

Fredrick Lorent Obuya and another Kenyan, who requested anonymity, said their ordeal began at military checkpoints and escalated at police stations where they were held in inhumane conditions with dozens of other detainees.

Speaking to the media in Nairobi after their release, the anonymous businessman said he was travelling home on October 31 when he was stopped at a military checkpoint.

“All petrol stations had been shut down. People were not moving. With the internet off, online cabs were not working. You were left with only two options, either a bajaji or a motorbike,” he said.

He described how authorities initially held his passport and phone.

“They kept my passport for an hour. They also took my phone but returned it later. Later, the police came, and things escalated very fast. The policeman cocked his gun and told me to get into the car. They blindfolded me inside the car,” he said.

Despite having all his documents in order, he said he was treated like a criminal.

“I had explained why I was in Tanzania and why I was heading to the airport, yet I was frog-marched into the police station and beaten. They ordered us to lie flat, and everyone was being beaten without any explanation,” he said.

At the police station, the Kenyans were accused of being involved in the demonstrations and allegedly trying to flee.

“We tried to explain ourselves, but they had our passports and should have known we had committed no crimes. They made us write statements and then moved us between different officers before finally taking us to a cell,” he said.

The detainees spent eight days in a 16-square-meter cell with 76 other people, including children as young as 11.

“It was extremely hot, and there was no water. The toilets were stinking, and the floor was filthy. Food was barely enough, just a small portion of ugali every 24 hours,” Obuya said.

They recounted that many of the detainees had gunshot or severe injuries, some untreated for days.

“Some people still had bullets inside their bodies. It was devastating to see,” he added.

He noted that the majority of the detainees were foreigners, including citizens from Malawi, Burundi and Kenya.

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“It wasn’t an attack on Kenyans alone. They were targeting foreigners indiscriminately during the unrest,” he said.

Kenyan activists condemned the harassment, demanding urgent actions and the repatriation of remaining Kenyans.

Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid said the Kenyan government had intervened through its High Commission in Tanzania, leading to the release of the two men. He called for injured Kenyans to be repatriated and the bodies of those who died, including Okoth Ogutu, to be returned for burial.

“We are asking the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Kenyans in Tanzania are safe. The Tanzanian government is using foreigners as scapegoats for the electoral chaos and violence,” he said.

The Young Aspirants Movement (YAM) also criticised Tanzania’s electoral process, terming it a one-sided competition.

National Chairman Peter Osteen Ngui dismissed the results, noting that President Samia Suluhu faced no serious challenger.

“The process was non-competitive and raised concerns for democratic practice in the region. Some Kenyans near the Namanga and Isebania border points also experienced harassment,” he said.

Ngui urged the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take stronger action in safeguarding citizens abroad.