Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has accused Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan of driving a wedge between Kenya and Tanzania.
Babu while citing the recent arrest, torture, and deportation of Kenyan activists he termed it as a low point in bilateral relations.
In a strongly worded statement, he expressed shock at the Tanzanian government's actions, noting the deep cultural and historical ties between the two nations.
"How can it be that patriotic unarmed Kenyans who cross into a neighbouring country can be arrested, held incommunicado, tortured and deported by a nation with whom we share a National language and whose people and ours overlap in origin, decent and culture more than 60%?"
He further has criticized the "juvenile rants" from Tanzania's Parliament and Executive, arguing that such moves undermine the long-cherished friendship.
"Kenyans are shocked that a whole National Parliament of Tanzania and a huge chunk of their Nation's Executive have trooped too low to engage in juvenile rants that demean and castigate a good neighbour like Kenya," he said.
Babu called out the heavy-handed approach against Tanzanian opposition politicians, including the arrest of Tundu Lissu, urging President Samia to embrace democratic principles and stop persecuting opponents in an era where governance should be through persuasion, not coercion.
"President Samia Suluhu should embrace her opposition counterparts and stop persecuting her opponents. Tanzania as a nation has now grown way beyond single party dictatorship, and it is shocking that individual leaders remain stuck in a past that's no longer viable," he said.
Highlighting the need for regional unity to address conflicts in Somalia, South Sudan, and the DRC, as well as economic challenges, he urged EAC, IGAD, and AU leaders to intervene and deescalate tensions to protect peace, security, and the fundamental rights of opposition figures in Tanzania.
"We call for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of opposition politicians in Tanzania," Babu concluded.
