Tanzania deports Kenyan activists as President Samia warns against foreign interference

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu has defended the recent deportation of some high-profile Kenyan nationals, accusing unnamed foreign activists of attempting to destabilise the country's internal affairs.

The move, which has triggered diplomatic unease with Nairobi, came just ahead of opposition leader Tundu Lissu's court appearance on treason charges.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam at the launch of Tanzania's new foreign policy, President Samia issued a warning to her national security agencies.

"They've already caused enough chaos in their own countries. Don't give room to ill-mannered individuals from elsewhere to bring disorder here," she said in Swahili, authorising security agencies to take action against what she described as a foreign plan to sow instability.

In the span of 48 hours, Tanzania deported Kenya's former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, alongside activists Hanifa Adan and Hussein Khalid.

This followed the earlier expulsion of prominent opposition politician Martha Karua and members of the Law Society of Kenya, who had travelled to observe proceedings in Lissu's politically charged trial.

The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs responded with a diplomatic protest. In a statement posted on X, Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei called on Tanzania to adhere to the foundational values of regional cooperation.

"We strongly urge the authorities in Tanzania to release the former Chief Justice of Kenya and his delegation consistent with the norms of the East African Community," he stated, repeating an appeal made a day earlier following Karua's detention and deportation.

Tundu Lissu, a senior CHADEMA figure and long-standing critic of the ruling CCM party, faces treason charges related to statements he made online.

His case has drawn attention from both regional and international observers, many of whom view the legal proceedings as politically motivated.

Tanzania, however, has long maintained a strong stance against what it perceives as external interference, particularly from neighbouring Kenya, whose political class and civil society maintain close ties with Tanzania's opposition movements.

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• Martha Karua
• Hanifa Adan
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