Karua condemns global bodies for staying silent on EAC abductions

People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has urged the international community to investigate the rising cases of abductions within East African Community (EAC) member states.

Speaking on Tuesday, Karua criticized global institutions for their continued silence in the face of escalating disappearances.

“We are calling on Jumuiya to urgently probe cross-border abductions. We also urge the African Union, through the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, along with the UN Human Rights Council, to establish a commission of inquiry into alleged human rights violations in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya,” she stated.

Addressing the international community, PLP leader Martha Karua declared, “Your silence amounts to complicity. The world must take a stand against political repression in East Africa, demand the release of all political detainees, hold perpetrators of state-sponsored torture and abductions accountable, and push for free, fair elections that truly reflect the will of the people.”

Karua further appealed to the European Union and other democratic partners to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for enforced disappearances, torture, and the shrinking of civic space.

She also urged citizens across East Africa to rise above national boundaries and unite in civic solidarity to challenge injustice and demand accountability.

“We are facing a regional crisis not of trade or economics, but of democracy itself,” Martha Karua warned, emphasizing that the foundational principles of the East African Community (EAC) cooperation, freedom of movement, and the protection of human rights are being steadily eroded by member states operating with impunity.

Karua also voiced her frustration with EAC leaders who, despite championing unity on global platforms, continue to endorse or turn a blind eye to the arrest, abduction, and torture of their own citizens.

Martha Karua voiced alarm over the recent surge in abductions and enforced disappearances across East African Community (EAC) member states.

She highlighted the cases of activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire, who were abducted and subjected to torture in Tanzania two weeks ago.

In the same country, she noted, democratic space continues to shrink.

The main opposition party, CHADEMA, has been barred from participating in elections, while its leader, Tundu Lissu, is facing charges of treason.

Karua warned that the increasing pattern of cross-border crackdowns points to a deliberate and coordinated effort by the governments of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to suppress dissent.

“This appears to be a calculated strategy to criminalize opposition voices through arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, and torture tactics aimed at instilling fear and silencing citizens,” she stated.