Why Tanzania blocked Martha Karua from representing opposition leader Tundu Lissu
Tanzania’s Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice, Damas Ndumbaro said Karua, two others were deported to protect the integrity of the legal system.
Tanzania has defended its decision to deport Kenyan lawyer and politician Martha Karua, saying she had no license to practice law in the country.
The country’s Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice, Damas Ndumbaro, said Karua and two other Kenyan citizens, lawyer Gloria Kimani and human rights activist Lynn Ngugi, were in breach of Tanzanian laws by trying to appear in court without the required legal accreditation.
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Ndumbaro told journalists in Dodoma on Tuesday that the three were deported to protect the integrity of the legal system.
“What they were coming to do in this country is a violation of Tanzanian laws, which is unacceptable,” said Ndumbaro during a press briefing on his ministry’s progress over the past four years.
The three had travelled to Tanzania to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges. Authorities stopped them before they could reach the court.
According to Ndumbaro, the government took deliberate action to block their involvement in the case, stating that their presence was illegal.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu had earlier said that foreign activists would not be allowed to “interfere” in the country's affairs after several tried to attend Lissu’s trial.
"We have started to observe a trend in which activists from within our region are attempting to intrude and interfere in our affairs," Hassan said in a televised speech during the launch of the country’s new foreign policy.
Samia urged the country’s security and defence organs “not to allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here."
Karua, known for her vocal criticism of democratic erosion in the region, had also been active in the legal defence of Ugandan politician Kizza Besigye, who was taken back to Uganda under controversial circumstances.
Following Karua’s deportation, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and other activists who tried to intervene in Lissu’s case were also stopped at the airport.
Lissu, a leading figure in Chadema, is accused of treason following his national campaign for electoral reforms.
He denies the charges and is expected to run against President Samia in the October general elections.
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