Tanzanian activist and human rights defender Maria Sarungi has praised Kenyans for standing with her after she was abducted.
The news of her alleged abduction raised concerns after it went around on social media with Kenyans and human rights organisations demanding her release.
According to Amnesty Kenya, Sarungi was taken by three armed men in a black Noah vehicle from Kilimani at approximately 3:15 pm on Sunday.
In a video seen by the Star, the human rights defender said that Kenyans made the news of her abduction trend seeking help.
She commended Kenyans for their willingness to help even though she was not widely known.
“What makes me feel safe in Kenya are the Kenyans, more than anything else. When you have been abducted and you see people fighting for you and they do not know who you are, gave me a sense. I was told on social media that they were trending it and commenting on it as if I were their own. What gives me the safety are the people,” she said on Monday.
Sarungi said that Kenyans raised the news of her disappearance which gave her abductors pressure.
“I feel that in Tanzania and a lot of countries, the spotlight is not there. I still believe that Kenya is safer in the region than any other. It could be better,” she added.
“I wish that Kenyans and the government could understand what it means for some of us in the region to have a place where you can express your opinion.”
Sarungi’s ordeal is the latest case of alleged abduction to happen to a foreigner on Kenyan soil.
On November 16, 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Bezigye was abducted from Nairobi before being driven to Kampala.
The politician went missing while in Nairobi to attend the launch of Martha Karua's memoir, Against The Tide.
