Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, activist Hanifa Adan and Hussein Khalid have been detained at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Tanzania.
This comes a day after People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua and two Kenyan lawyers were denied entry into Tanzania and deported to Nairobi.
The three reported that their passports were confiscated, and they are still waiting for further communications from the Tanzanian authorities on the next step.
Hanifa took to social media at around 3am on Monday May 19, 2025, revealing that they had travelled to the neighbouring country in solidarity with detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
“Hello, guys. We’ve been detained at Julius Nyerere International Airport, and we’re not being told why. This is utterly ridiculous and petty. It’s 3am and it’s cold here, damn. I’m here with Willy Mutunga and Hussein Khalid. We all travelled in solidarity with Tundu Lissu, who has a mention in court today,” she stated.
In another later post, Hanifa disclosed that as at 6am, they were still at the airport, with nobody to attend to them.
“We’ve been held at Julius Nyerere International Airport since 2am. The terminals are deserted, the floors are cold, and we’re hungry. Everyone seems to have gone to sleep, leaving us stranded,” she posted.
“I’m genuinely asking, what is President Samia so afraid of? This situation is utterly absurd,” she added.
