Nairobi, Kenya – January 13
Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a prominent Tanzanian activist and critic of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was released hours after reportedly being abducted by three armed men in Nairobi.
Sarungi Tsehai was allegedly forced into a black car in the Kilimani neighborhood on Sunday afternoon, according to Amnesty International. In a post on X, she later confirmed her safety, saying, “I am now safe, many thanks to everyone.”
Mungu ni mwema! Nimepambana na ninyi mmepambana
I am now safe many thanks to everyone and I will talk more tomorrow
Nawapenda sana!#TutaelewanaTu pic.twitter.com/8t2Jxf9S1d
— Maria Sarungi Tsehai (@MariaSTsehai) January 12, 2025Her husband, David Tsehai, described the incident as terrifying in a video shared by the Law Society of Kenya. “It was the scariest moment of my life,” he said, accusing Tanzania’s national intelligence service, TISS, of orchestrating the abduction. The couple fled Tanzania for Nairobi four years ago, citing safety concerns.
Tanzanian and Kenyan authorities have not responded to requests for comment. Amnesty International researcher Roland Ebole described the abduction as an example of “transnational repression” on Kenyan soil, an accusation Kenyan authorities have denied.
The case comes amid ongoing allegations of abductions targeting critics in Tanzania. In November, a Ugandan opposition figure was kidnapped in Nairobi and forcibly returned to Kampala, where he now faces charges in a military court.
