Former CJ David Maraga arrives in Tanzania for Tundu Lissu case
Former Chief Justice (CJ) David Maraga has arrived in Dar es Salaam for Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s treason case.
The former CJ announced his X platform on Monday, May 19, 2025.
This comes hours after the People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader, Martha Karua, was denied entry to Tanzania and deported to Kenya.
In a statement on X on May 18, 2025, Karua said she, alongside Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council member Gloria Kimani and member of the Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network Lynn Ngugi, was detained at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.
“I have been denied entry into Tanzania, and I and two colleagues are awaiting deportation at Mwalimu Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam,” Karua said.
Karua’s detention
Karua stated that she had arrived in Tanzania at 9.00 am, and an immigration official at the airport referred her passport to the supervisor.
“I arrived at Dar es Salaam, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport, at 9 a.m., and immigration referred my passport to the supervisor, who kept me waiting for an hour as she consulted her superiors,” Karua stated.
“I am concerned that, as a citizen of Jumuiya, my access within the East African Community (EAC) appears inexplicably restricted.”
The PLP leader had travelled to Tanzania to support detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges in court.
She alleged that their entry was being denied due to their interest in the politically charged case involving Tundu Lissu.
“The common thread between Gloria Kimani, a council member of LSK, and Lynn Ngugi is that we are guests of EALS. I suspect all visitors who may be interested in the politically motivated case against Tundu Lissu are being denied entry,” she stated
Additionally, the former Chief Justice (CJ) Willy Mutunga, alongside activists Hanifa Adana and Hussein, were denied entry into Tanzania.
In a statement on X on Monday, May 19, 2025, activist Hussein Khalid revealed on X that they didn’t have their passports and were being held in an interrogation room.
“Following our detention, we’ve been brought to the interrogation room. They’ve told us to wait here for their senior officer – I guess the chief interrogator! We still don’t have our passports, nor do we know why we’re being detained,” he stated
Tundu Lissu case
The three had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with Tanzanian lawyers and human rights defenders at the invitation of the East Africa Law Society.
Lissu was arrested in April 2025 and charged with treason over a speech calling on Tanzanians to rebel and disrupt the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections that are scheduled for October.
The Chadema, the main opposition party in Tanzania, was also disqualified from the elections after it refused to sign an electoral “code of conduct”.
Lissu faces the potential death penalty if convicted of treason despite multiple arrests over the years.
