A prominent Tanzanian activist, Maria Sarungi Tsehai, has been released after reportedly being abducted on Sunday in Nairobi, Kenya, by three armed men, her husband said. He accused Tanzania’s national intelligence service of orchestrating the incident.
Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a well-known human rights advocate and critic of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was allegedly forced into a black car in Nairobi’s Kilimani neighborhood on Sunday afternoon, according to Amnesty International.
“I am now safe, many thanks to everyone,” Sarungi Tsehai wrote on X (formerly Twitter) hours after her release.
Allegations Against Tanzanian Intelligence
Her husband, David Tsehai, claimed that the couple sought refuge in Nairobi four years ago after fleeing Tanzania due to safety concerns.
“It was the scariest moment of my life,” he said in a video shared by the Law Society of Kenya late on Sunday. “There is no doubt in my mind (it is) the thugs of the Tanzania Information and Security Services (TISS) who are behind this.”
Neither Tanzania’s government nor its intelligence service, TISS, immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment. Similarly, Kenya’s police spokesperson did not provide a statement regarding the incident.
Pattern of Abductions
President Hassan had ordered investigations into abductions last year following reports of government critics being kidnapped, injured, or killed by unknown assailants. Rights groups claim such incidents are part of a broader effort to silence opposition ahead of national elections scheduled for later this year.
Roland Ebole, a researcher with Amnesty International, described Sarungi Tsehai’s abduction as another instance of “transnational repression that is happening on Kenyan soil,” accusations that Kenyan authorities have consistently denied.
This incident follows a similar case in November when a Ugandan opposition figure was kidnapped in Nairobi and forcibly repatriated to Kampala, where he now faces charges in a military court.
Sarungi Tsehai’s brief disappearance highlights the growing concerns over the safety of political dissidents in East Africa, as both Tanzania and Kenya face mounting accusations of targeting critics through cross-border operations.
