Tundu Lissu, leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA, has been charged with treason over remarks prosecutors claim incited public unrest and urged people to disrupt this year’s national elections. The charge, which carries the possibility of the death penalty, stems from a speech Lissu gave last week.
Lissu, who was the presidential runner-up in the 2020 elections, was taken into custody on Wednesday after holding a rally in the Ruvuma region. He appeared in court in Dar es Salaam on Thursday but was not permitted to enter a plea on the treason charge. He was ordered to remain in custody. He did, however, plead not guilty to a separate charge of spreading false information and is expected to appear in court again on April 24.
His defense attorney, Rugemeleza Nshala, argued that the charges were politically motivated, stating that Lissu was merely educating party supporters and that his words were being used to target him unfairly.
CHADEMA has declared it will not participate in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections—scheduled for October—unless major electoral reforms are enacted, citing a system that they believe heavily favors the ruling party.
Court documents indicate that Lissu made the controversial remarks on April 3 in Dar es Salaam. He is alleged to have called for obstructing the upcoming election and encouraging civil disobedience, reportedly saying, “We will prevent the election… We will inspire rebellion… We are going to spoil this election.”
Lissu previously survived an assassination attempt in 2017, when he was shot multiple times. No one has been held accountable for the attack, though it was publicly denounced by the government at the time.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took office in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, initially received praise for easing some political restrictions. However, concerns over her administration’s human rights record have grown in recent months, especially following a series of arrests, disappearances, and alleged targeting of opposition figures.
Despite criticism, the president has affirmed her administration’s commitment to human rights and last year ordered an investigation into reports of abductions.
