Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, said on Saturday that its detained leader, Tundu Lissu, has been moved to a different prison facility, a day after the party reported uncertainty over his whereabouts.Lissu, who was charged with treason last week, had been held in a detention center in Dar es Salaam since April 10.

CHADEMA officials, along with his legal team and family, said they had been denied access to him and were not informed about the transfer until a recent meeting with the Tanzania Prisons Service.“CHADEMA would like to inform the public that Tundu Lissu has been transferred to Ukonga Prison,” party spokesperson Brenda Rupia said in a statement. The party said it had not been given any reason for the move.Efforts to reach officials at the Tanzania Prisons Service for comment were unsuccessful. Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said that once formal charges are filed, all case-related matters fall under the authority of the relevant legal bodies.Lissu, who was the runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, faces treason charges for allegedly calling on the public to resist and disrupt the upcoming national elections.

He has not yet been allowed to enter a plea in court.The case has intensified scrutiny of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration as she prepares to seek re-election in October. While Hassan was initially commended for easing political restrictions after taking office in 2021, rights groups have recently expressed concern over a resurgence of political repression, including arrests and disappearances of opposition figures.

Tensions escalated further last weekend when the national electoral commission announced that CHADEMA would be barred from participating in the upcoming election due to the party’s refusal to sign a code of conduct, citing demands for electoral reforms.