Dozens of Tanzanian asylum seekers spent Monday gathered outside the United Nations refugee agency’s offices in Nairobi, pleading for help after what they described as repeated delays by the Kenyan government to register them as refugees.

The group, made up largely of political dissidents and supporters of the opposition CHADEMA party, said they fled their homes following rising tensions around Tanzania’s 29 October election, which President Samia Suluhu Hassan won by a wide margin. Many said they fear arrest if they return. Kenya, they added, had initially promised to process their cases but has since gone silent.

“We are no longer safe back home,” one man told reporters. “Our country is no longer democratic. You all saw what happened. We came here to seek asylum to save our lives.”

Some of the asylum seekers said they left Tanzania after warnings from local authorities not to speak publicly about their political views. Several described being intimidated for criticising the election outcome.

Kenya has long been a major host of refugees in the region, sheltering people from Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. But a sudden rise in Tanzanians seeking protection is unusual, and it has placed fresh pressure on the government as it implements new asylum procedures.

The group accused Kenyan officials of giving shifting explanations for the delays and said that, despite repeated attempts to follow up, they had received no clear response. They said the lack of documentation leaves them exposed to arrest or deportation under Kenya’s immigration laws.

At the UNHCR compound in Nairobi’s Westlands district, the asylum seekers sat on pavements and grassy patches for hours, hoping to be heard. The agency did not issue a public statement on Monday, though officials typically avoid commenting on individual cases.

The Kenyan government has also not addressed the matter, even as the number of Tanzanians seeking asylum grows. Rights observers in Kenya say they have noticed an influx over recent weeks, most citing political pressure or fear of reprisals in Tanzania.

In Dar es Salaam, President Suluhu last week ordered prosecutors to withdraw charges against hundreds of young people arrested during post-election demonstrations. She said many had simply been “following the crowd” and deserved leniency. But critics say the gesture has done little to calm fears among opposition supporters who believe they remain at risk.

For the Tanzanians waiting in Nairobi, the priority is simple: formal recognition as refugees. Until then, they say, they have nowhere else to turn. “We just want protection,” another man said. “We are asking Kenya to help us before something happens to us.”