Normally, the Namanga One-Stop Border Post is a place of commerce, a busy artery connecting the ports of Mombasa, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. But in the days following the recent disputed election in Tanzania, it became the flashpoint of a regional democratic crisis.

As protests erupted over the exclusion of opposition candidates in the polls amid allegations of vote-rigging, young activists from neighboring Kenya attempted to cross the border — not with goods, but with a message of solidarity.

That attempt, however, led to a violent stand-off: "Police have shot us with tear gas. They have shot the Kenyans across the border. The day has been bad," one Tanzanian youth protesting in the border area said.

At least two Kenyan nationals meanwhile were reported to have died in the ensuing clashes — on top of hundreds of Tanzanian victims.

Digital solidarity bypasses the blackout

This physical standoff serves as a powerful metaphor for a new reality in Africa: the struggle for democracy in the civic space in one country can no longer be contained within its territorial limits.

Young protestors not only take inspiration from each other but also join forces in hopes of creating a better future for all.

Tanzanian authorities meanwhile seem to resort to their well-documented playbook for stifling such post-election dissent, throttling internet bandwidth and cutting access to social media giants like WhatsApp, TikTok Live, and Instagram Live, effectively imposing an information blackout.

But even in digital darkness, young protestors manage to seek out and connect with likeminded individuals; in fact, this is where Kenyan civil society and individual digital users stepped in:

Operating from Nairobi, Kenyan media outlets and activists became the external press corps for dissidents in neighboring Tanzania, amplifying suppressed voices and sharing graphic images and videos that the Tanzanian government tried hard to conceal.

Neighbors in the fight for democracy

Veteran Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma, based in Nairobi, explains the critical role of Kenyan activists as follows:

"While violence was ongoing in Tanzania, Kenyan activists managed to organize themselves in Nairobi where they were meeting to tell the world what was happening in Tanzania, given that media in the country was not speaking about the incidents and the internet was totally blocked."

Kenyan-based amplification was crucial in maintaining global awareness about the goings-on in Tanzania, ensuring that the narrative of alleged human rights abuses — including reports of security forces shooting protesters and concealing their dead bodies — did not vanish into the void of the digital shutdown.

The institutional push for EAC accountability

This cross-border solidarity is not only felt on the street or social media; it's also reflected at institutional levels.

Kenyan Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), have been relentless in lobbying regional bodies like the African Union (AU) and the East African Community (EAC) to invoke their protocols on good governance and human rights and hold Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government accountable.

This pressure is vital because the EAC treaty explicitly calls for adherence to "universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice" as a key consideration for membership in the bloc.

This type of advocacy work shifts Tanzania's democratic challenges from being a domestic issue to a matter of regional accountability, forcing East African governments to confront those who hold power and control in Dodoma.

Seasoned politician, lawyer and activist Martha Karua has been particularly vocal about the recent developments, denouncing what she calls "an unholy alliance of the East African rulers."

"We are staring at a regional crisis. Not economic crisis. Not a crisis of trade, but of democracy itself. To the leaders of the EAC, you cannot speak of unity while jailing, abducting and torturing your own citizens, and criminalizing free movement of people, who are the very reasons why the Jumuiya (the Community) exists," she stated.

The high cost of cross-border activism

Still, such acts of cross-border solidarity comes at a high cost, which perhaps is best illustrated by the harrowing accounts of those who dared to venture into Tanzanian territory.

Kenyan activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi traveled to Dar es Salaam alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire to observe the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

They were subsequently detained and allegedly beaten and tortured before being dumped separately at their respective borders.

The allegations they raise against authorities in Tanzania, which include accounts of sexual assault, point to the chilling reality that political repression is equally transnational.

In fact, there are mounting reports and allegations that security agencies are now coordinating repressive operations across borders to silence critics and deter regional solidarity.

Intelligence agencies quelling dissent together

Kenyan activist Bob Njagi, who was himself abducted in Uganda, shared his experience after returning to Nairobi:

"We realized that the three governments are collaborating between [Ugandan president] Museveni, our president [William] Ruto, and [Tanzanian president] Samia Suluhu. Our arrest was coordinated." Njagi said to DW.

With former Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and politician Martha Karua also detained in Tanzania and then deported for attempting to observe a trial, the message from the Tanzanian state is that Kenya is no longer a safe base for its critics.

Even self-exiled Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi only managed to narrowly escape her abduction in Nairobi by people believed to be from the security apparatus.

A new era of borderless dissent

The Kenyan response to the Tanzanian crisis also underscores a profound shift in East African politics. The region is witnessing a "democratic re-awakening," driven largely by a young, digitally-native generation that sees human rights violations anywhere in the community as a threat everywhere else.

As Tanzanian Gen-Z protestors plan another mass protest in mid-December, Kenyan activists have already announced their solidarity with them.

Activist Njagi pledged to provide regional support: "On December 9, they have declared it an independence day. We, also, in Kenya are declaring the total shutdown. We are going to stand in solidarity with our brothers in Tanzania. We are going to shut our borders in Kenya with our solidarity with Tanzania."

However, the ultimate question is perhaps whether these forces of solidarity can prevail against coordinated state repression, as this battle for democracy and accountability is bound to define the future not just of Tanzania, but of nations across East Africa and beyond.

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson