NAIROBI, Kenya – Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi has contradicted widespread reports that Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was deported from Tanzania, confirming instead that Mwangi remains in custody in Dar es Salaam.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV Tuesday night, Mudavadi said the Kenyan government was in close contact with its mission in Tanzania and had verified that Mwangi had not yet been repatriated.
“He is in Tanzania, and I’ve been in touch with the Kenyan mission there. He’s being held by the authorities, and we hope he’ll be released,” Mudavadi said. “Our embassy is in touch with him… trying to figure out how he can be helped so that he can find his way back home.”
Earlier in the day, Tanganyika Law Society President Boniface Mwabukusi had announced on X that Mwangi and Ugandan journalist Agatha Atuhaire had been deported, citing information from Advocate Emmanuel Ukashu, who had been assigned to the case.
Mwabukusi claimed Mwangi was accused of providing false information to gain entry into Tanzania.
Mudavadi, however, pushed back on those claims, indicating no official communication had confirmed their return.
Mwangi and Atuhaire were arrested Monday at a hotel in the Tanzanian capital, where they had travelled to observe the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu—a case that has drawn regional attention and sparked diplomatic friction.
The arrests were part of a broader crackdown on foreign activists, which has seen several high-profile Kenyans—including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, politician Martha Karua, and rights activists Hanifa and Hussein Adan—either barred from entering Tanzania or deported after brief detention.
Pressed on why Tanzanian authorities had detained Mwangi and others, Mudavadi offered little clarity.
“We all know through the media that a section of Kenyan individuals wanted to go and observe the judicial process,” he said. “The best we can conclude is that they seem to have rattled the administration in Tanzania.”
The Prime CS was non-committal on whether Kenya had made formal diplomatic protest, stating only that “diplomatic channels” were being used to pursue the matter.
“This is something that happened quite suddenly,” he said. “Our focus is to help the individuals who are there to get out of the situation. Then we can pursue the broader issues diplomatically.”
Asked whether the Tanzanian response was justified, Mudavadi walked a diplomatic tightrope.
“It’s an election period in Tanzania. Even in Kenya, we’ve had our moments of very emotive sessions during elections,” he said. “We want cordial relations. But it should also be a wake-up call. Sometimes we take the freedoms we enjoy in Kenya for granted.”
His comments appeared to echo sentiments expressed earlier in the week, when he controversially sided with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu over the detentions—remarks that sparked backlash from opposition leaders and civil society.
In a separate interview, Martha Karua accused Kenyan authorities of abandoning the activists detained in Tanzania, saying no official assistance was offered when they were held at Julius Nyerere International Airport.
Mudavadi defended the government’s response, saying: “Our ambassador, Isaac Njenga—I’m in touch with him, and he has visited Boniface.”
The situation has raised fresh questions about the balance between regional diplomacy and defending citizens’ rights abroad.
