While speaking on political intolerance during a popular podcast, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino revealed that he was recently detained for three hours while attempting to enter Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. According to him, after swiping his passport at the immigration checkpoint, authorities informed him that he was on the Interpol wanted list. As a result, he was denied entry into Tanzania through the Dar es Salaam airport, an experience he described as shocking and unjust.
Babu Owino firmly maintained that he had committed no crime that would warrant such treatment. He emphasized that he had not engaged in any unlawful activity, either in Kenya or Tanzania, and suggested that his detention was a politically motivated act aimed at suppressing his voice. According to him, governments in the region are increasingly using such tactics to silence outspoken leaders who challenge the status quo.
He further claimed that his continued efforts to hold the Kenyan government accountable have made powerful figures, including Presidents in Kenya and Uganda, uncomfortable. He alleged that such leaders are resorting to extreme measures, including travel restrictions and political harassment, to suppress his activism.
Additionally, Babu Owino disclosed that he has been banned from entering Uganda for similar reasons, stating that his outspokenness against heads of state has led to his unwarranted persecution.
By Nairobi