PALU Statement on Detention and Deportation of Martha Karua by Tanzanian Authorities

The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention, and subsequent unlawful deportation of Senior Counsel Martha Wangari Karua (Advocate), Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Council Member Gloria Kimani (Advocate) and Activist Lynn Ngugi at Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam.

We have spoken at length with the two Advocates and the Activist, and with our members at Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), East Africa Law Society (EALS) and various other persons. The three were arbitrarily arrested immediately upon disembarking the plane that brought them to Dar es Salaam, and before they could be processed through the Immigration Counters. They have been detained for several hours, their luggage confiscated and have ultimately been put on a plane back to Nairobi. No senior Immigration or other Government official has talked to them; and they have not been given any reason for their detention and ultimate deportation.

The three East Africans landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to peacefully conduct observation of the trial of the opposition party leader, Advocate Tundu Lissu, which has attracted international attention and has been clouded by allegations of politically motivated charges in the runup to the general elections in October of this year. In particular, Advocate Karua SC has previously appeared to observe the trial on 24 and 25 May of this year without obstruction to her. We noted, however, the excessive and unwarranted violence that was meted out to political party leaders and members of the public who had tried to go and observe that trial, or who were unlucky enough to be in the vicinity at the time.

PALU, as the premier continental body of African lawyers, expresses its deep shock and condemnation about the arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportation of Trial Observers as the maintenance of fair criminal justice relies on public trials that can be attended by interested parties who freely observe trial conduct.

The right to observe public criminal trials is enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, read with the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, which explicitly recognize the duty placed on States to provide adequate facilities for attendance of interested members of the public at public trials and prohibits banning the public from attending at trials.

The deportation of the three East Africans, one of whom is Council Member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), is a startling breach of the right to freedom of movement by East African nationals which is guaranteed in the East African Community Treaty and the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Common Market. PALU further reminds the public that the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has adequately pronounced itself on such breaches of freedom of movement, particularly where (then Advocate, now High Court Judge) Samuel Mohochi was travelling for trial observation in Uganda and was detained at Entebbe International Airport and deported by immigration authorities back to Kenya. PALU acted as co-counsel for Advocate Mohochi before the EACJ to defend his rights and the EACJ upheld the right to free movement in the region and the right to be free from deportation without just cause in terms of the law. (EACJ Reference No. 5 of 2011: Samuel Mukira Mohochi vs. The Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda, Judgement of 17 May 2013)

PALU further expresses its deep concern that the arbitrary arrests and deportations (and several other breaches of the law committed against Tanzanian politicians, activists and members of the public) damage the international credibility of the Tanzanian judicial process in dealing with the opposition leaders and will further cast a pall over the international public trust in the upcoming electoral process, which has already been overshadowed by the memories of abductions, enforced disappearances, violence and repression, and which is currently the subject of PALU litigation before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the East African Court of Justice.

PALU urges the Tanzanian authorities to urgently speak up, apologise for the unlawful detention and deportation processes, and make reparations to the three East Africans, including providing guarantees of their freedom of movement as they proceed to observe the trial of Tundu Lissu and any other trial they may wish to observe.

PALU will continue to observe developments in this regard and will stand by to protect and defend these Advocates in seeking just treatment by Tanzanian authorities.

Donald Deya
Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU)
18 May 2025