NAIROBI — Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has praised Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu for deporting Kenyan activists who traveled to Tanzania in solidarity with opposition leader Tundu Lissu, but suggested she should have gone further by detaining and prosecuting them.
Speaking at the Senate on Wednesday, Cherargei accused the activists of exporting “bad manners and political disorder” from Kenya to Tanzania and called on President Suluhu to assist Kenya in disciplining them.
“I want to thank her excellency Samia Suluhu for calling out activists who wanted to go and disrupt the peace in Tanzania. In fact, she should have detained and prosecuted them because they have taught this country bad manners; they have taught our people to insult, undermine and lose respect to the leadership of this country,” Cherargei said during the Senate session.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei speaking during debate session.
The senator, who appeared visibly pleased with the deportation decision, further claimed that the activists are “funded by the enemies of Africa who want to destabilize the unity of most African countries.”
“I want to ask President Suluhu to be very careful because these activists are funded by the enemies of Africa who want to destabilize the unity of most African countries. I want to ask President Suluhu that in the spirit of East Africa, they should assist us to discipline some of these activists that have continued to destabilize Kenya,” he added.
Deportation incident
Several prominent Kenyan activists, including People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua and former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, were detained and deported from Tanzania on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
They had traveled to attend the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Other deported activists included Hanifa Adan, Hussein Khalid, Gloria Kimani, and Lynn Ngugi. According to reports, they were held at Julius Nyerere International Airport, some for hours without explanation, before being deported.
Activist Boniface Mwangi also reported being harassed by armed men claiming to be police at his hotel in Dar es Salaam. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
The activists had traveled to Tanzania to show solidarity with Tundu Lissu, who faces charges of inciting rebellion ahead of Tanzania’s October 2025 elections.
Cherargei described Tanzania as “a very peaceful country” and endorsed President Suluhu’s stance on mutual respect between neighboring countries. He urged activists to stop “running around East Africa trying to meddle in the internal affairs” of other nations.
The senator’s comments come amid growing tensions between civil society organizations and governments across East Africa, with activists increasingly facing challenges when attempting to monitor political developments in neighboring countries.
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