By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Kenya’s foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi on Friday told his Tanzanian counterpart that the safety of Kenyans living in the neighbouring country are of paramount importance and must be guaranteed, alleging that their rights have been violated.
Reports say Kenyan citizens are living in fear in Tanzania after being allegedly targeted in a brutal crackdown on the protests that followed last week’s disputed election.
According to Mudavadi, a “formal reports” had been submitted to the Tanzanian authorities following the crackdown, saying there will be “appropriate action”.
During a phone conversation, Mudavadi said he had told Tanzanian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo that concerns would be “addressed through the established diplomatic and consular channels”.
He reaffirmed “the importance of safeguarding the rights, safety, and dignity” of Kenyans living in Tanzania.
Mudavadi had in May said about 250,000 Kenyans lived, worked or did business in Tanzania.
Tanzanian President, Samia Suluhu Hassan had won the country’s presidential election with 98% of the vote.
During her inauguration, she condemned the violence that trailed her victory amid opposition clampdown, blaming foreigners for stoking the unrest.
The Tanzanian government has come under intense international scrutiny for allegedly using excessive force to quell post-election protests, which reportedly left hundreds of people dead.
It has sought to downplay the scale of the violence and has dismissed the number of deaths given by the opposition as greatly exaggerated.
Kenyan human rights activist Hussein Khalid urged the government to take urgent measures to protect them, saying that Tanzanian authorities were using Kenyans as “scapegoats for the atrocities committed by police against Tanzanians”.
President Hassan faced little opposition with key rival candidates either imprisoned or barred from running in the October 29 election.
