Former CJ Willy Mutunga, Martha Koome and other leaders in a past media brief. The two have sued Tanzania government for unlawful detention. Photo: Martha Karua X.
Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Senior Council Martha Karua and eight others have sued Tanzania government at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), accusing Samia Suluhu’s administration for unlawful detention, deportation and refusal of entry in Tanzania.
The complaints also include activists Hanifa Adan, Gloria Kimani, Lynn Ngugi, Hussein Khalid,who claim that their rights as East African citizens were violated when they were blocked from entering Tanzania to observe the ongoing treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
The team is demanding a public apology from Tanzanian government, removal of ‘denied entry’ on their passports, transport expenses they incurred and general and special damages for the mental anguish, reputational harm.
They argue that following events of May, 18 , 2025, they were detained without explanation at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, and later deported back in the country, after their travelling documents were confiscated by Tanzanian Authority.
Karua and her team assert that they were in Tanzania as international observes, with the aim of attending Lissu’s trial case that was set for May, Monday 19. In their petition, they argued that the Republic of Tanzania violated the East African Treaty, as they are a member, guaranteeing free movement of members within a particular state, transparency and as well as good governance.
Filed jointly with two public interest litigants, East Africa Law Society (EALS) and Pan African Lawyers Union, the case argues that Tanzania’s actions are inconsistent with Articles 6(d), 7(2), 76, 104, and 8(1)(c) of the EAC Treaty and the EAC Common Market Protocol of 2009.
They further claim that the Authority undermined civic participation and infringed upon the principle of open justice, as they were denied the opportunity to observe public legal proceedings of regional importance.
On, May, Thursday, 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania confirmed that the Tanzanian Authority had denied them access to detained Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi. The events followed a series of sanctions to Tanzania including the banning of Tanzania Airline to European Union pace.
