Tundu Antiphas Lissu, leader of Tanzania's main opposition party, CHADEMA, has been charged with treason for remarks he made last week urging citizens to resist the upcoming general elections scheduled later this year.
According to multiple news outlets, Lissu was arrested on Wednesday in the southern Ruvuma region following a public rally. He had been actively promoting his party’s national campaign under the slogan “No Reforms, No Election.”
Appearing before the Kisutu Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, Lissu was not permitted to enter a plea on the treason charge. However, he pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of publishing false information.
This development has sparked renewed concern over the state of human rights and political freedoms in Tanzania, particularly as President Samia Suluhu Hassan seeks re-election.
President Samia received international praise when she assumed office in 2021 for relaxing political restrictions and loosening media censorship that intensified under her predecessor, the late John Magufuli. However, human rights organizations have recently raised alarms over a pattern of arrests, forced disappearances, and suspicious killings of opposition figures.
Lissu, who was the runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, has been holding rallies across the country, calling for substantial political reforms before any national election is held.
Sources: Reuters
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