NAIROBI, Kenya, May 22 – People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has petitioned the African Union Commission (AUC) over Tanzania’s ‘deteriorating rule of law.’
In the letter also copied to the East African Community Karua cited the torture of activist Boniface Mwangi and missing Ugandan rights defender Agather Atuha.
“The detention of Mr Mwangi and Ms Atuhire was preceded by the deportation of six other international Trial Observers who included a former Chief Justice, former Minister of Justice and a member of the Law Society of Kenya Council who had arrived at the Julius Nyerere International Aurport on the same mission,” she stated.
She indicated that the situation ‘presents a serious breach of both national and international; human rights standards and is evidence of a dangerous trend of coordinated abductions forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings in the region.”
Boniface Mwangi was earlier released in Ukunda, Kwale after being deported from Tanzania where he had been detained.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Mwangi was to be transferred to Nairobi for treatment.
“He is in high spirits. The Commission and other partners are making arrangements to transfer him to Nairobi for medical attention,” KNCHR stated.
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.