After spending eight days in a cell at Oyster Bay Police Station in Dar es Salaam, two Kenyans who were released after government intervention told the story of the torture they went through.
The two maintain their innocence and have spoken out about their disappointment at how the Tanzanian government treated them, labelling them sponsors of the nationwide violence during the election period.
Speaking to the media in Nairobi after returning, a businessman who sought anonymity for fear of being targeted, said that he was arrested and detained for eight days simply for being a Kenyan.
When the demonstrations began on October 29, 2025, when Tanzanians were voting, the businessman said he had been due to travel home on October 31. President Samia Suluhu was declared president and later sworn in.
However, on his way to Kenya, he was stopped at one of the many military checkpoints that had been set up in the wake of demonstrations.
“All petrol stations had been shut down. People were not moving; there were no vehicles. With the internet off, online cabs were not working and you were left with two options: either use the bajaji (tuk-tuk) or a motorbike,” he said.
Tanzanians charged with treason for alleged involvement in violent protests that broke out during last week's presidential and parliamentary elections, squat in a formation as they arrive at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
Initially, he did not think much of it, but then his passport and other travel documents were confiscated for 30 minutes, which he found to be more problematic.
“They kept my passport for an hour. They also took my phone but returned it later. Later, the police came out and things escalated very fast. The policeman cocked his gun, and we got into a car. They blindfolded me inside the car.”
The action from both the military and the police shocked him, being a law-abiding person. He said that he was treated like a terrorist despite having all the documents and explaining why he was leaving the country.
“We were taken to the police station. We were frog-marched into the station and straight to the cell. That is where the beatings started. We were ordered to lie flat and everyone was being beaten without any explanation,” the man said.
After a few hours at the police station, they were accused of being part of the demonstrators and allegedly that was the reason they were attempting to run away.
“We tried to explain ourselves, and since they had our passports, we expected them to know that we had committed no crimes. They asked us to write statements and after that we were taken back to the CID office and they started taking us from one police officer to another.”
Amid growing demonstrations in the country, he could only hope for the best, with the growing tension over his life and what lay ahead. But things got worse as they were locked inside a cell, together with some people who had sustained gunshot injuries.
“One of the police officers opened the gates and we were taken down to the police cell and that was the beginning of our eight days inside that cell,” the man said.
He added that they were barely given enough food, and the police did not care about those who were bleeding.
Tanzanians charged with treason for alleged involvement in violent protests that broke out during last week's presidential and parliamentary elections, walk in a formation as they arrive at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
“We were being given the food that remained in the police mess, which sustained us for every 24 hours. I had a target before going to Tanzania and I really hit the target since I lost a lot of weight within those eight days,” he joked.
The cells, he said, were full of foreigners, the majority being from Malawi, Burundi, and Kenya.
“There were children inside that cell as well. I think the youngest was eleven years old. I actually got some injuries. My thumbnail was injured as a result of the beatings on the first day.”
Even as normalcy returns in Tanzania, the man says that he is not ready to go back at the moment. Another Kenyan who travelled back declined to talk about the matter.
Kenyan activists, including Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid, condemned the harassment of Kenyans in Tanzania, saying that the organisation continues to receive horrible stories from Kenyans who are in Tanzania.
Mr Hussein said that the Kenyan government, through its High Commission in Tanzania, intervened, leading to the release of the two Kenyans who were detained at Oyster Bay Police Station in Dar es Salaam.
“We are asking the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Kenyans in Tanzania are safe. We are asking all the neighbouring countries of Tanzania to make sure that their nationals in Tanzania are safe,” Mr Hussein said.
The lobby group stated that the Tanzanian government is using foreigners as scapegoats for the electoral chaos and violence.
“Our appeal to the government of Kenya is, please make sure that our brothers and sisters who are in Tanzania are safe. We want anyone who is injured brought back and those who have died, including Okoth Ogutu, to have the body brought back for burial,” Mr Khalid said.
