Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a well-known Tanzanian activist and human rights defender, has been released hours after being “kidnapped” on Sunday by three armed men in Nairobi, Kenya. Her husband, David Tsehai, has accused Tanzania’s national intelligence agency, the Tanzania Information and Security Services (TISS), of orchestrating the abduction. According to Amnesty International, Sarungi Tsehai, a vocal critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was seized in the Kilimani neighbourhood and forced into a black car.
Her brief detention comes amid allegations of transnational repression by Tanzanian authorities targeting critics abroad. Following her release, Sarungi Tsehai assured her supporters of her safety, posting on X, “I am now safe, many thanks to everyone.” David Tsehai revealed that the couple fled Tanzania four years ago to seek refuge in Kenya, citing threats to their safety.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” he said in a video shared by the Law Society of Kenya, directly blaming TISS for the incident. Neither the Tanzanian government nor TISS responded to requests for comment on the allegations.
Similarly, Kenyan police have yet to issue a statement. President Hassan has previously ordered investigations into abductions linked to Tanzanian authorities. Rights groups claim such actions often target critics ahead of national elections, fuelling accusations of systemic repression. Amnesty International’s researcher Roland Ebole described the incident as part of a pattern of “transnational repression” occurring on Kenyan soil, a charge that Kenyan authorities deny.
In November, a Ugandan opposition figure was abducted in Nairobi and forcibly repatriated to Uganda, where he faces charges in a military court. This case raises further concerns over the safety of political dissidents in East Africa and the growing cross-border nature of repression in the region.
Melissa Enoch
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