Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi recounts her abduction in Nairobi

Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi recounts her abduction in Nairobi

Maria Sarungi, a prominent journalist and vocal critic of the Tanzanian government and President Samia Suluhu, was over the weekend abducted in Kilimani, Nairobi, by three armed men driving a black vehicle.

She was released on Sunday evening, hours after her abduction.

She is now pointing the finger at President Suluhu’s administration for her abduction in Nairobi, saying Dar is unhappy with her online activism ahead of polls.

Her brief detention comes as the governments of both Tanzania and Kenya stand accused of abducting critics.

Sarungi Tsehai's husband David Tsehai said the couple sought refuge in Nairobi four years ago after fleeing Tanzania.

President Hassan ordered an investigation into the abductions last year, when several government critics were abducted and injured or killed by unknown people, in a pattern by which, rights groups say, the government targets opponents in the run-up to national elections expected later this year.

Amnesty International researcher Roland Ebole said Sarungi Tsehai's abduction was another example of "transnational repression that is happening on Kenyan soil," accusations Kenyan authorities deny.

In November a Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was kidnapped in Nairobi and forcibly repatriated to Kampala where he faces charges in a military court.

- Additional reporting by Reuters