Tanzania’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, appeared in court on Monday to face treason charges — a move that has drawn sharp scrutiny just weeks before a national election his party has been barred from contesting.
Mr Lissu, leader of the opposition CHADEMA party, was arrested in April after prosecutors accused him of urging citizens to rebel against the government and disrupt this month’s polls. He has yet to enter a plea.
The case is being heard at the Kisutu Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam under tight security. Live coverage of the trial has been banned, following a request from the state prosecutor, who argued that witness identities needed to be protected.
Mr Lissu, a former presidential candidate who finished second in the 2020 election, has long been one of the fiercest critics of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has governed Tanzania since independence in 1961.
His lawyer has dismissed the charges as politically driven. “This case is not about treason — it is about silencing dissent,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
The trial comes amid growing unease over President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s leadership. Hailed early in her tenure for easing some of the political repression and media restrictions that marked the rule of her predecessor, John Magufuli, Ms Hassan now faces mounting criticism over a renewed crackdown on opponents.
In recent months, human rights groups have reported a string of arrests and alleged abductions of government critics. The government has denied any involvement but has yet to publish findings from an internal investigation ordered last year.
Tanzania’s electoral commission barred CHADEMA from participating in the October 28 election, saying the party had failed to sign a mandatory code of conduct. The country’s second-largest opposition party was also disqualified, leaving only minor candidates to challenge Ms Hassan, who is widely expected to win re-election by a large margin.
Mr Lissu’s personal story has long symbolised the risks faced by political opposition in Tanzania. In 2017, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt after being shot 16 times outside his home in Dodoma. No one has ever been charged in connection with the attack.
As his trial begins, international observers and rights groups are warning that Tanzania’s political space — briefly opened under Ms Hassan — is once again tightening.
For many Tanzanians, the stakes are clear. “This trial is a test of whether our democracy still exists,” said one CHADEMA supporter outside the courthouse. “If they can silence Lissu, who is safe?”
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