Fumbling Mudavadi: Anger at Foreign Affairs CS for backing Suluhu's deportations

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s take on the plight of Kenya’s human rights activists in Tanzania has exposed the country’s inconsistency in standing with its citizens.

His comments have further raised concerns over the balance between trade relations and the protection of citizens' human rights.

Mudavadi’s surprising defence of Tanzania President Samia Suluhu following the detention and deportation of party leader and lawyer, Martha Karua, and retired Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, among others, casts the Kenya Kwanza administration as one that cares more about appeasing foreign governments than safeguarding its citizens’ rights.

Mudavadi also defended the abduction of Uganda’s Opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi 

Human rights defenders and a section of politicians have accused Mudavadi of trading Kenyans’ rights to be in good books with the country’s neighbours despite guarantees in the Constitution and the East African Common Market Protocol.

Mudavadi backed Suluhu's remarks that the Peoples’ Liberation Leader (PLP) leader, Mutunga and other activists had interfered with Tanzania's domestic affairs and aimed at destabilising the country. 

Other Kenyans deported included Law Society of Kenya (LSK) council member Gloria Kimani and member of the Pan-African Progressive Leaders Solidarity Network Lynn Ngugi.

Activist Boniface Mwangi and a Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire were by last evening still being held by Tanzania authorities.

The group had visited the country to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.

According to Mudavadi, President Suluhu might have been speaking from her observation of the conduct of Kenyans in recent times.

“I will not protest that (Suluhu’s remarks) because I think there is some truth. Let us face a few facts. The level of etiquette, insults, that we see in Kenya, even though we have the freedom of speech, is sometimes going overboard to some extent. She is saying people have sometimes gone to extremes in their utterances in Kenya, which is a fact,” he said.

"What we need to talk about is, can we get to the bottom of the treatment there… I am a Kenyan too, and the fact of the matter is that our approach and our utterances, because we are free in speech, have lacked integrity.”

Mudavadi claimed Suluhu’s concerns were anchored in the upcoming elections, saying what was important was Kenya and Tanzania to continue having cordial relations.

“We need to also appreciate that sometimes we take the freedoms we have here for granted. I think it should also be a wake-up call to us in Kenya that how we operate, how we speak, how we express ourselves does not necessarily please or work in other countries… One of the candidates is not contesting. There’s a petition in court. So when the Kenyans went there, I think the Tanzanians may be looking at it and saying, why have Kenyans come to address themselves to a Tanzanian affair?"

Mudavadi was, however, at pains to explain why he had not yet reached out to his counterpart in Tanzania, or the deported Kenyans to understand their experience and why they were treated as criminals.

When he was reminded about the EAC protocol that allowed citizens of the member states free movement, Mudavadi responded: “The Jumuiya has not taken away the sovereignty of the states; the countries have not ceded their sovereignty to the EAC, so it still remains. If there is sovereignty, then a country will make certain decisions. They have taken the decision, so it is their duty through the diplomatic channels to find out what the circumstances were in detail.”

Reacting to their deportation, Suluhu maintained that foreign activists would not be allowed to “interfere” in the country’s affairs.

“We have started to observe a trend in which activists from within our region are attempting to intrude and interfere in our affairs. If they have been controlled in their country, let them not come to disrupt us. Let us not give them the chance; they have already destabilised their countries and the only remaining peaceful nation is Tanzania,” she said in a televised speech during the launch of the country’s new foreign policy.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna expressed shock that the government could abscond its duty and side with foreign governments.

“Our Minister for Foreign Affairs taking Tanzania side on the deportation of Kenyans is wild. Who put these people in power?”

His Migori counterpart Eddie Oketch faulted Mudavadi, saying EAC citizens had rights to move freely in the member states.

“The East African Treaty of 1999 envisions harmonised laws across member’s states.  Article 104 of the EAC Common Market Protocol 2015 expressly guarantees the free movement of labor, services and goods within the region. The recent deportation of Kenyans from Tanzania undermines this spirit of integration and is a disturbing signal for democracy in the region. A dictatorship in a one-member state is a threat to democratic values across the entire community,” he said.

On his part human rights lawyer Dancun Otieno noted that the Tanzanian authorities had not indicated grounds for the deportations, which Mudavadi ought to have protested against.

“The question here is not whether a country can deport someone or not, but whether the grounds upon which the deportation was conducted were lawful, proportionate, and consistent with the regional and international obligations, particularly when it involves human rights advocacy and free movement within an economic community,” he noted.

He submitted that the EAC Treaty Chapter One (1), Article Six (6) and Sub-section (d) of the treaty explicitly lists good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice.

“Denying entry to individuals for observing a trial or expressing solidarity, especially human rights advocates, directly contradicts these principles. It suggests a lack of commitment to democratic transparency and human rights,” he said.

Mudavadi’s response to questions on the kidnapping of Dr Besigye has also been criticised with activists claiming it contravened the repatriation rules and procedure.

The Prime CS told Citizen TV that Besigye’s presence in the country was “not quite clear’ as his business in Kenya raised questions from the outset, and his continued stay amid evolving issues made the situation diplomatically sensitive."

He went on to claim that Kenya’s decision to cooperate with Ugandan authorities was in line with the country’s broader national interests, including the need to safeguard diplomatic and economic ties with its East African neighbours.

“We always look at national interest. We have to partner with our East African States and sometimes we have to manage those relations very carefully for the broader national interest,” he explained. “Even as individuals, we must be cognizant that there’s a nation and nations have relationships.” 

Mudavadi was further hard pressed to express why members of the Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) formed a parallel government in the country, a move that could jeopardize the country’s relationship with Sudan.

“Kenya is not involved in any negative way with Sudan. Remember, we don’t even have a common border. If you follow carefully, Sudan has been suspended from the African Union because the people in authority are not there through a democratic process. Right now, the legitimacy of the authorities in Sudan is under audit by the African Union. We are members of the African Union,” he said.

His denial falls short, especially noting that part of the statement by the RSF in Nairobi indicated that they declared "the establishment of the government of peace and unity, a broad civilian coalition that reflects the true face of Sudan".

This also saw Sudan, in retaliation, ban Kenyan imports. A Kenyan pilot was recently killed when the Sudanese army destroyed a Kenyan aircraft on an RSF mission.

Prof Gitile Naituli of the Multi-Media University says Mudavadi’s remarks about the country’s foreign policy was worrying, and calls on the government to look for a citizen-centered approach.

“Its the high time the government rethinks its foreign policy because based on the submissions by Mudavadi, Kenyans have all the reasons to get worried. The government should prioritise the safety and security of its citizens and not focus on the trade relations.”