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Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu vowed not to allow instability across the East African region to seep into her country.
The President on Monday instructed all security forces and other stakeholders in the country not to “allow space to the weak people from other countries to come do their wicked work here.”
An island of peace
She said Tanzania remained the only island of peace and stability in the region despite several attempts from across the border to cause chaos.
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“The only country which remains undisturbed, where people have peace, stability and tranquillity, is here in Tanzania,” she said.
“There have been several attempts; I plead with you, the heads of security agencies, and you, the leaders here, you must not allow those wicked people from other countries to come and do their wicked work here in this place.”
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President Suluhu was speaking in the wake of last Sunday's detention and subsequent deportation of a team of Kenyan lawyers, led by former minister, Martha Karua, preventing them from attending the court case of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
The team was reportedly stopped and held at the airport before being deported back to Kenya.
Ugandan human rights activist Agather Atuhaire and Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi were among those detained in the crackdown.
Opposition leader on trial
Lissu, who is the leader of Tanzania's main opposition Chadema party, was meant to appear in court the following day, Monday, after being charged with treason last month.
Karua is a respected human rights advocate and a vocal critic of what she calls "democratic backsliding" in East Africa.
She has also been representing Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, who was kidnapped in Kenya last year and taken back to his home country to face treason charges.
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President Suluhu, however, says people like Karua are out to destabilise the region.
“We have started to see a movement of activists in our region starting to invade and interfere with our affairs. Now, if they have been defeated in their home countries, they should not come to disturb us here,” she said.
The President also addressed critics of her decision, saying she was simply protecting he country, which is her primary mandate.