Former Chief Justice of Kenya David Maraga has arrived in Tanzania to attend the court hearing of detained Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason and incitement charges.
Maraga touched down at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 19, 2025, and confirmed his arrival via social media.
“Safely arrived in Dar-es-Salaam. Headed to court for the Tundu Lissu court case,” he posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
His visit comes amid growing tensions between Tanzanian authorities and visiting Kenyan legal and human rights delegates expressing solidarity with Lissu.
Maraga is the third high-profile Kenyan to attempt to attend the trial. The first delegation, led by senior counsel and People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua, arrived on Sunday morning but was denied entry and deported.
Karua was accompanied by Lynn Ngugi and Gloria Kimani — both affiliated with the East Africa Law Society (EALS) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
“I arrived at Dar es Salaam, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport at 9 am, and immigration referred my passport to the supervisor, who kept me waiting for an hour as she consulted her superiors,” Karua said. She linked the denial of entry to their support for Lissu, calling the charges against him “politically motivated.”
The second delegation, comprising former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, and human rights defenders Hanifa Adan and Hussein Khalid, also faced detention at the airport on Monday morning. They were held at immigration and were awaiting deportation.
Khalid stated on X: “We, Willy Mutunga, Hanifa Adan, and I have been detained at Julius Nyerere Airport, Dar es Salaam, as we came in for the observance of Tundu Lissu’s case. The trip was in solidarity with Tanzanian lawyers and human rights defenders. They have not given reasons for the detention.”
