The Director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Dr Blessing Vava, was denied entry into Tanzania and deported on Tuesday in what the organisation has described as a “barbaric act of repression” by Tanzanian authorities.
According to a statement from the Coalition’s Information Desk, Dr Vava arrived at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on 28 October as part of a regional solidarity mission to engage with civil society organisations (CSOs) and social movements. The mission aimed to discuss concerns over the escalating crackdown on dissent under what the coalition called the “increasingly authoritarian regime” of President Samia Suluhu Hassan ahead of Tanzania’s upcoming general elections.
Upon arrival, Dr Vava’s passport was reportedly confiscated by immigration officials, who subjected him to hours of interrogation and profiling in restricted airport rooms. He was later informed that he was “not welcome in Tanzania” and labelled a security risk-without any formal explanation.
The coalition said Dr Vava spent the night detained in a holding cell at the airport without blankets before being deported on 29 October.
In a strongly worded statement, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition condemned the treatment of its director, describing it as an affront to human rights and the dignity of the African child.
“We are disturbed by the continued harassment and deportations of human rights defenders and election observers whose work is not criminal but aimed at promoting human rights, good governance and democracy,” the statement read.
The organisation further criticised Tanzanian authorities for betraying the values of Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism championed by the country’s founding president, Julius Nyerere.
Tanzanian officials have not yet issued an official comment on the incident.
Dr Vava’s deportation comes amid mounting regional and international criticism of President Suluhu’s administration, which has been accused of shrinking civic space and silencing dissenting voices in the run-up to the elections, described by observers as a “one-horse race electoral ritual.”
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition vowed to continue working with regional partners to defend democratic rights and resist repression across Africa.
Source – online
