Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has announced the release of activist Boniface Mwangi after days of detention in Tanzania.
Mudavadi, in a statement, said Mwangi was released by Thursday morning by the Tanzanian authorities after intervention by the government.
The release comes after the
Kenyan government wrote a protest letter to the Tanzanian government over the
lack of access to activist Boniface Mwangi following his arrest in the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that since Mwangi’s
arrest, consular officials were able to access him despite several requests.
It added that it was concerned about his health and well-being,
as information about his whereabouts remained unknown.
“The Ministry notes that, despite several requests, officials of
the Government of Kenya have been denied consular access and information to Mr.
Mwangi. The Ministry is also concerned about his health, overall wellbeing and
the absence of information regarding his detention,” the letter by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs read in part.
The ministry noted that his detention was against the provisions
of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), to which both the
Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania are State Parties, which
allows consular officers to visit any national of the sending State who is in
prison, custody or detention.
Kenya further demanded that Tanzanian authorities give expedited
access to the activist by Consular officials or release him as international
law dictates.
“The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs respectfully urges the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to expeditiously and without delay facilitate consular access to or release of Mr. Mwangi, in accordance with international legal obligations and diplomatic norms,” the letter read.
Mwangi was arrested at a hotel
in Tanzania alongside Ugandan journalist Agatha Atuhaire, and their whereabouts
remain unknown.
They had flown to Tanzania to attend a court session for the
main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu.
Other activists who were supposed to join them, including former
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and PLP leader Martha Karua, were detained at the
Julius Nyerere International Airport and deported back to Kenya.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga was among a few who managed to
enter Tanzania without having problems with the authorities.
Human rights activists in Kenya threatened to lead demonstrations
across the border into neighbouring Tanzania if Boniface Mwangi is not released
within 24 hours.
The activists said they will start by “occupying” the Tanzanian
Embassy in Nairobi should the East African nation fail to release Mwangi by
Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
