Ex-Tanzanian MP arrested after fleeing to Kenya as crackdown on opposition intensifies 1
Africa 24

Ex-Tanzanian MP arrested after fleeing to Kenya as crackdown on opposition intensifies

Tanzania opposition leader Godbless Lema was on Sunday arrested as he fled to Kenya as a crackdown in the neighbouring country intensifies following the swearing of President John Pombe Magufuli for a second term in office after a disputed poll late last month.

Reports according to Kenyan media outlets say Lema spent Sunday night in a police station in the East African country.

His arrest comes following a crackdown on opposition leaders following President John Magufuli’s re-election in a landslide victory.

His lawyer, George Luchiri Wajackoyah, is quoted by the newspaper as saying he wanted to present the politician to the United Nations Human Rights Commission office in Nairobi.

“Right now, I am with my wife Neema, my 14-year-old son Allbless, Brilliance (daughter) and my last born son Terrence. I do not know what tomorrow holds. I am now looking for asylum,” Mr Lema is quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Mr Lema was arrested while being driven by his lawyer to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. He was accompanied by his wife and children.

Kenyan police caught up with them at a town located about 45km (28 miles) from the border after being alerted by their Tanzanian counterparts, the Standard newspaper reports.

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