Nyerere must be turning in his grave over situation in Tanzania

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan addresses a past event at Kasarani stadium, Nairobi, on September 13, 2022. [File, Standard]

Monday, May 19, 2025, will forever be etched in my memory. Not because of violence or chaos but because of the cold, quiet efficiency of repression. On that day, I was detained and subsequently deported from Tanzania alongside Chief Justice Emeritus Willy Mutunga and fellow activist Hanifa Adan. We had travelled there to stand in solidarity with human rights lawyers and to witness first-hand the struggles of those fighting for expansion of democratic space in the region. Instead, we were swept into the tightening grip of authoritarianism under President Samia Suluhu.

From the moment we were detained, we were treated as enemies of the state. No reason was given. No explanation offered. Just silent instructions from unseen powers. Our phones were eyed suspiciously. At one point, an officer warned me against filming and threatened to confiscate my device to delete the images and videos I had captured. I looked him straight in the eye and told him, "Dare do that. You will know I'm Kenyan, not Tanzanian." He backed off and walked away. That moment spoke volumes. Not about me but about the silent, simmering tension between a people yearning for freedom and a regime desperate to silence even the whispers of dissent.