Activists: Kenyan lives at risk in Tanzania, bring them back home

The grim aftermath of Tanzania’s violent crackdown on protesters during last week’s disputed elections continues to unfold, with Kenyan rights groups alleging that up to 3,000 people may have been killed.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has called for the urgent repatriation of about 150 Kenyan teachers allegedly trapped in Tanzania.

“They are held hostage with very limited communication gadgets open to them, and this is very unfortunate,” said Secretary-General Akelo Misori.

According to Misori, the teachers were pursuing master’s programmes at Aga Khan University and are currently unable to leave the country. He urged the government to expedite their return.

Meanwhile, the family of a Kenyan teacher reportedly killed in Tanzania by suspected security officers is appealing to Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and William Ruto to facilitate the repatriation of his body.

According to relatives of John Okoth Ogutu, the teacher was shot dead while on his way to buy supper after violence broke out in Dar es Salaam and other parts of Tanzania following the election.

Ogutu’s elder sister, Celestine Ogutu, said the family has yet to trace his remains.

“The government said they are following up with the embassy so that the body of my brother can be brought back to Kenya. What I do not know is if they have found the body,” she said.

She added that Ogutu’s colleagues at Sky Schools confirmed his death but had not seen his body despite searching several morgues.

Rights groups — including Amnesty International, Defenders Coalition, and Vocal Africa — have also demanded the release of another Kenyan, Fredrick Lorent Obuya, who they claim is being held incommunicado. The groups estimate that more than 20,000 Kenyans work in Tanzania.

They said Obuya was taken into custody by Tanzanian security forces on October 31, and is being detained at Oyster Bay Police Station in Dar es Salaam.

Ogutu’s family said his death came just months after the loss of their father, who was buried in May. Celestine said her brother’s employer informed them that he had been tutoring a student at home and was killed later that evening while going to buy food.

“We were told that after the tuition lessons he went to get supper, and that is when he was killed,” she said.

The family grew increasingly anxious about his safety after reports emerged of widespread unrest in Tanzania’s capital following what citizens described as sham elections.

Suluhu secured re-election in an election that has been dismissed as a sham by observers. 

Rights groups have condemned statements by Suluhu and other state officials blaming foreign nationals, particularly Kenyans, for the unrest.

“We are deeply concerned by statements by Samia Suluhu Hassan and other state officials that foreign nationals, and particularly Kenyans, are responsible for the violence that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent days. These claims are unfounded and present serious risks to the safety of Kenyans and other foreign nationals,” the organisations said in a joint statement.

They urged the Kenyan government to ensure the safety of its citizens in Tanzania, stressing that it has “an unequivocal duty to protect its citizens abroad and to demand accountability where their rights are violated”.

“While we welcome the bilateral engagement between the Tanzanian and Kenyan Foreign Ministers yesterday, we urge them to swiftly and comprehensively act to protect Kenyan nationals residing and working in Tanzania.”

Amnesty International’s Executive Director Irungu Houghton said the number of people killed or injured remains unclear as fact-finding missions have been obstructed by intimidation and harassment from authorities.

Jennifer Atieno, Ogutu’s cousin, said a Tanzanian official informed them that his body had been moved but asked for patience.

“He told us that we are going to get the body, asking us to be patient for a while because there are processes they are supposed to go through,” she said, adding that they were advised them to visit the Kenyan embassy in Dar es Salaam if they wanted the process expedited.

“We are just pleading with them to help us retrieve the body of our brother.”

The rights groups have called for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of Ogutu’s death and demanded an apology from Suluhu’s government. They also want both governments to cover the costs of repatriation and burial, as well as issue a statement on the safety of Kenyans living in Tanzania.

“Failing these actions, we will press for a case to be filed by bar associations and human rights organisations within the region before the East African Court of Justice and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to seek justice for the victims and accountability of the perpetrators.”

“Some have been brutally beaten on their doorsteps and then dragged away by the police, whereas others were murdered in their very own homes. The youngest, who was shot and murdered, was a one-year-old. Twins, also intern doctors, were both murdered at their gate,” said the lobby groups during a press conference at the Kenya Human Rights Commission offices yesterday.

The organisations said their casualty estimates were verified through independent sources inside and outside Tanzania. “We are in touch with Tanzanians within Tanzania and in the diaspora because we know whatever statement we make must be credible,” said former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana.

They urged Suluhu’s government to allow an independent international fact-finding mission “to ascertain the extent of the reported grave human rights and civil rights violations”.

The groups claimed that security agencies had killed at least 55 people in October alone and that the crackdown was expanding beyond political dissidents to include street families, medics, business people, and professionals.

They cited a case in which authorities allegedly stormed a holding area where ten men were detained, ordered them to lie on the floor, and executed them.

The lobbies also accused the government of digging mass graves in major towns, including Arusha, Mwanza, Dar es Salaam, Geita, Mbeya, Songwe, Mara, Katavi, and Moshi. A BBC report on Thursday indicated that bodies were being moved from morgues to undisclosed locations.

“A worker involved in burying unclaimed bodies says he has never seen so many corpses in his life,” the groups said.

They alleged that police were seizing bodies from hospitals and morgues to conceal evidence and that medical staff were under surveillance by security agents.

The groups further claimed security agents were confiscating mobile phones from medics, patients, and family members, deleting photos and videos documenting the violence.

“We have also been informed that doctors and nurses were being given orders to ‘maliza’ (kill) those who were in critical care from gunshot wounds,” the statement read.

They said the atrocities were being carried out by a paramilitary unit that allegedly includes foreign operatives.

“Suluhu’s regime is also allegedly running an incinerator outside Dar es Salaam, in the Pwani Region, where many innocent souls’ bodies are being incinerated in a further attempt to destroy evidence.”

The groups accused authorities of intimidating families seeking information about missing relatives, with hospitals allegedly refusing to release details for fear of reprisal.

They claimed the nature of the injuries suggested the use of high-grade weapons not authorised for civilian law enforcement.

“We have established credible indications that the illegal military-grade weapons being used to murder Tanzanians were imported by Abdul Ameir, Suluhu’s son.”

The rights groups noted that it was rare for the African Union to criticise a member state’s election but said its condemnation of Tanzania’s polls reinforced their claims.

“In its findings, the AU states that the process failed to meet democratic standards, citing ballot stuffing, an intentional state-imposed internet blackout, excessive military force, politically motivated abductions, and systematic disruptions of independent observation.”

They called on Suluhu to step down, saying she lacks legitimacy, and urged regional blocs such as the African Union and the Southern African Development Community to intervene and stop the ongoing abuses.

Meanwhile, at least 100 youths were arraigned in a Dar es Salaam court and charged with treason. AFP footage showed busloads of suspects arriving under heavy armed guard. Both men and women appeared weak and dusty as they were escorted one by one into the courtroom.

[Additional reporting by Alex Kiarie]