Can foreign activists just stroll in and stir trouble in Tanzania?
President Samia Suluhu isn’t having it. After several Kenyan activists tried to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, she fired a sharp warning: Tanzania won’t be anyone’s playground for interference.
“Why are activists from the region so eager to poke their noses in our business?” she asked. Her message was loud and clear: If you’ve failed to control unrest at home, don’t come here to cause chaos. Tanzania is holding the line as one of the last peaceful countries around. And she wants to keep it that way.
Just hours before her statement, Kenyan rights activists, including big names like Martha Karua and Willy Mutunga, were stopped at Julius Nyerere International Airport and sent right back to Nairobi. They came to observe the trial of Tundu Lissu, a major opposition figure now charged with treason over allegedly calling for rebellion ahead of October’s elections.
Lissu’s party, Chadema, has already been kicked out of the race after being accused of not signing the election conduct rules. His supporters say the government under Suluhu is backtracking on old, harsh tactics.
Is Tanzania heading back to the days of political repression? The tension says so.
For now, Lissu’s trial is on hold until June 2 while investigations continue. But Suluhu’s words are clear: Tanzania’s borders are closed to outsiders looking to meddle. She’s telling activists, “Not in my country.”
In a region where political drama often spills over borders, Tanzania is drawing a line. Whether you see it as protecting sovereignty or shutting down dissent, Suluhu’s message is unmistakable: foreign interference won’t shake Tanzania’s peace.
By Yockshard Enyendi