Hosted by Kwangu Liwewe
Featuring Maria Sarungi-Tsehai and Mary Kambo
Produced by Finbar Anderson
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In East Africa, creeping authoritarianism and crackdowns on political speech are not occurring in isolation. Rather, these are issues affecting multiple countries across the region, Tanzanian rights campaigner Maria Sarungi-Tsehai and Mary Kambo of the Kenya Human Rights Commission tell New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe on The Lede.
“What is happening in Tanzania is a replica of what we are going through in Kenya,” Kambo says. “Kenya was a forerunner in the region in terms of democracy and good governance. Unfortunately, all this has been rolled back with the regimes that are currently in power, and [Tanzanian President Samia] Suluhu has unfortunately not made the situation in Tanzania any better.”
“Kenya was a forerunner in the region in terms of democracy and good governance. Unfortunately, all this has been rolled back.”
New Lines’ podcast production team had been in contact with Kenyan activist and politician Boniface Mwangi, who alleged torture and sexual assault at the hands of the local authorities after his arrest in Tanzania while on a visit supporting an opposition politician, to invite him onto the show.
International condemnation of Mwangi’s arrest in Tanzania was not sufficiently vocal, says Sarungi-Tsehai. “There was no real slapping on the wrist. … The international community, the United Nations, the African Union, everybody has remained quiet.”
Shortly after speaking with New Lines, Mwangi was arrested again, this time by Kenyan authorities. “The regime has become extremely intolerant and paranoid, and we’re seeing that the regime has been unable now to stand any dissent or criticism, and therefore the arrest of Mwangi and the charges trumped up [against him], though shocking, are not surprising,” says Kambo.
Sarungi-Tsehai points the finger at providers of foreign aid for helping to prop up those in power. “We need to be able to tell developed democracies, ‘OK, this is not your mess, I agree. But do not help. Do not give foreign aid, do not give investment. Do not propagate these regimes’ financial interests. If you have decided that this is not your fight, then stay away completely.’”