According to a video shared by Citizen Tv, On May 18, 2025, Karua was held together with former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for they had reached to be the trial of treason against the Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Both were not only denied entry but also sent back to Nairobi. Karua, the person concerned, called the act of exile politically motivated and declared that the government had better look for other means of repression of critical voices. No comments were given by Tanzanian authorities about the incident.
The development has caused us to worry about the status of political freedoms and human rights in Tanzania, especially with the re-election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan in the upcoming election. The non-admission of the eminent Kenyan activists has led to a deepened analysis of Tanzania’s human rights situation. The party Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) that Lissu is part of has come up with a demand that the elections be restructured so that they believe that they are greatly favored by the ruling party.
Karua being deportation is an illustration of the increasingly growing hardships that are being faced by opposition leaders and human rights advocates in the region. It clearly shows the rising use of state power to silence dissenters and the role played by the international community in promoting democratic values and the protection of human rights.
Martha Karua, leader of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), has declared that she is returning to Kenya following nearly six hours of being held at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Tanzania.
In a post on her X account on Sunday, Karua announced that her deportation had been finalised.
“Deportation finalized!” “On KQ flight No 485 heading to Nairobi,” she tweeted.
Earlier, Karua shared a video stating that she was held at the airport with two lawyers upon their arrival at 9am.
Airport “I reached Dar es Salaam, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere InternationalAirport at 9 am, and immigration sent my passport to the supervisor, who made me wait for an hour while she checked with her superiors,” she stated.
She stated that she was being detained with fellow human rights advocates and attorneys Lynn Ngugi and Gloria Kimani, all visitors of the East Africa Law Society (EALS) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
Karua expressed her worries regarding the limitations on her mobility within the East African Community (EAC).
“I worry that, as a member of Jumuiya, my access to the East African Community (EAC) seems oddly limited,” she stated.
Karua stated that their refusal of entry was connected to their involvement in the politically delicate matter of detained Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, who is confronting treason accusations.
The shared connection between Gloria Kimani and Lynn Ngugi is that we are attendees of EALS. “I believe that all guests potentially interested in the politically driven case against Tundu Lissu are being barred from entry,” she remarked.
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Her remark followed soon after Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei announced that the Kenyan mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was investigating the detention.
The Incident has raised concern on some Kenyan leaders questioning the existence of Jumuiya Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has criticized Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu over the arrest of People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua.
Babu Owino expressed that it is “very concerning to treat Kenyans poorly when they arrive in Tanzania.”
