Tanzanian Rights Activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai Abducted in Nairobi: Kenya’s Growing Trend of Allowing Foreign Abductions Under Scrutiny
Tanzanian rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Sunday, Amnesty International and her organization reported.
Tsehai was grabbed by three armed men in a black Toyota Noah in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, according to Amnesty Kenya.
What do we know about Tsehai’s disappearance?
Tsehai, who has 1.3 million followers on X, advocates for political reform, freedom of expression, and women’s rights in her country.
She is also a fierce critic of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Change Tanzania, Tsehai’s social movement, wrote on X that they believe her “abductors” are Tanzanian security agents, “operating beyond Tanzania borders to silence… legitimate criticism.”
It said that her “courage in standing up for justice has made her a target, but we won’t let this moment silence her voice.”
Tsehai has been living in “exile” in Kenya since 2020, Tundu Antiphas Lissu, a leader of Tanzania’s opposition Chadema party, said.
“We must call upon the Kenyan government and all people of goodwill from around the world to intervene in whatever capacity they can to help secure Maria’s safe return to her family,” he said.
Stephen Jackson, the UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya said he was “very concerned” about Tsehai”s reported abduction.
‘Worrying trend of transnational repression’
There have been previous reports of foreigners in Kenya being captured and deported without proper legal procedures.
In October 2024, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was “deeply concerned” over reports that four Turkish refugees had been abducted in the capital Nairobi, and forcibly returned to Turkey.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said the four people were repatriated at the request of the Turkish government.
In November, Uganda said it worked with Kenyan authorities to arrest Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye in Nairobi. They brought him back to Uganda’s capital Kampala to face a military trial.
It is “part of a growing and worrying trend of transnational repression with governments violating human rights beyond their borders,” Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement.
Tanzania’s crackdown on dissent
Tanzania’s opposition is accusing the government of cracking down on criticism.
When President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office in 2021, she was initially praised for enhancing democratic freedoms after succeeding her autocratic predecessor, John Magufuli.
But she now faces growing domestic and international criticism over her government’s human rights record.
Rights groups and Western governments have condemned what they perceive as a resurgence of repression, with opposition politicians facing frequent arrests, abductions, and even killings.
Tanzanian authorities have not yet commented on Tsehai’s disappearance.
