Following the death of Tanzanian opposition leader John Pombe Magufuli on Wednesday, four opposition politicians have fled to Kenya seeking asylum
The four politicians – Ngai Kagose, Edward Ndege Aduogo, Andrew Mng’osi Nyakriga, and Godwin Lazaro Kitori – affiliated to the opposition party, CHADEMA said that their lives are in danger over their persistence in asking about Magufuli’s health before his death.
They said that they could end up in jail for enquiring about Magufuli’s health because Tanzania does not tolerate “dissidents”.
“For example, even inquiring about the health of Magufuli lands someone in jail,” they claimed according to the Star.
They said that they have been receiving threats via messages from CCM affiliated leaders and the provincial administration.
They held a press briefing with their lawyer Prof George Wajakoya on Wednesday.
The four politicians are from Mara region and none of them retained their seats after the 2020 General Elections.
They said that the Magufuli-led administration rigged them out as a way to crackdown on dissenting voices.
CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu who sought refuge in Belgium after the polls was shot at and hospitalized.
He said this was an assassination attempt to silence him.
Since April 2020, the media was banned from airing any content related to Covid-19 in Tanzania.
Already, Kitori and Ndege have been registered by the Secretary for Refugee Affairs as asylum seekers and are waiting for March 24 to find out if or not Kenya will grant them asylum.
Kitori who was a councilor and recently got released from jail.
Wajakoya appealed with the Kenyan government to grant the four politicians asylum in Kenya.
“The Kenyan government is obligated under international law to ensure safety of the asylum seekers. The international human rights laws override the countries’ diplomatic relation issues,” he added.
In November last year, former Arusha MP Godbless Lema fled Tanzania via the Namanga border to Kenya seeking asylum claiming that he was a target of political persecution in Tanzania.
Lema later flew to Canada with his wife and children.
