🚨 Martha Karua’s Deportation from Tanzania: Intelligence Implications for Tanzania-Kenya Relations and the East African Community
Prepared by Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | May 19, 2025 | 0230 BST
Executive Summary
On 18 May 2025, Martha Karua—a senior Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister—was detained and deported from Tanzania, alongside two Kenyan colleagues: Gloria Kimani and Lynn Ngugi. The trio had travelled to Dar es Salaam under the auspices of the East Africa Law Society (EALS) to observe a high-profile treason case involving Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
This incident marks a significant breach of East African Community (EAC) principles, especially the protocol on the free movement of persons. It further exposes the delicate undercurrents in Tanzania-Kenya diplomatic ties, the political sensitivities surrounding opposition figures in Tanzania, and the instrumentalisation of immigration control as a political tool.
Below is a structured intelligence insight into the broader implications.
1. Immediate Context: Suppressing Legal Observation Through Immigration Control
Martha Karua and her colleagues were reportedly invited by the East Africa Law Society, a body whose mandate aligns with regional integration, legal monitoring, and democratic accountability. They intended to attend and observe proceedings in the treason case against Tundu Lissu, leader of CHADEMA and an outspoken critic of the Tanzanian government.