Why Mimicking Samia Suluhu on Social Media Could Land Kenyans in Trouble

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu may consider taking legal action against the Kenyan government over the growing number of online insults and mimicry she has been subjected to by Kenyans on social media, Dagoretti North Member of Parliament Beatrice Elachi has cautioned.
Speaking during a televised interview onTV47, Elachi, who has recently been making controversial political remarks, stated that the ridicule directed at Suluhu could form the basis of an international lawsuit, especially under frameworks related to gender and electoral integrity.
“President Samia Suluhu can sue us [Kenya]. When she finalises the October 28 election, she can argue using the gender card and say ‘when I – a minority woman vying for presidency – was campaigning, Kenyans abused me,’” Elachi said.
She further argued that the kind of insults and cyberbullying directed at Suluhu could amount to electoral violence, which is also prohibited under Kenyan law.
“Those are electoral violence, and she can also send the necessary documents and say that as Kenyans we abused her, which also in our law we do not allow,” she added.
The MP’s comments follow growing criticism from Kenyans on social media directed at President Suluhu over a series of alleged abductions, human rights violations,and deportations of Kenyan activists in Tanzania.
On May 18,  former Justice Minister Martha Karua and two Kenyan lawyers (Gloria Kimani and Lynn Ngugi) were denied entry into Tanzania and deported back home. A day later, three more Kenyan activists, including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, were detained and later deported.
Mutunga, who was travelling alongside activist journalist Hanifa Adan and VOCAL Africa CEO Hussein Khalid, was detained on arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport. Theirpassports were also confiscated.
Another Kenyan activist, Boniface Mwangi, who arrived in Tanzania to attend Lissu’s trial the following day, was arrested on Monday, May 19, at his hotel after Tanzanian authorities claimed that he had entered the country irregularly.
Elachi maintained that the issue needs to be approached with legal clarity, urging lawmakers to revisit the treaties that bind East African Community member states.
“On the issue of Kenyans being abducted in Tanzania, I think as Parliament we need to relook at the treaties East African countries have. Only after appraising ourselves on the policies and contents of these treaties can we tackle the issue correctly,” she remarked.
Suluhu has also come under fire for what many Kenyans see as a crackdown on dissent, including the arrest and detention of opposition figure and  Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), the main opposition party in Tanzania, party leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing terrorism-related charges.