DODOMA, Tanzania — Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu is set to go on trial for treason on Monday, just weeks before a general election that his party has been barred from contesting.
Lissu, the leader of the CHADEMA party and runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested in April over remarks prosecutors allege amounted to incitement to rebellion and disruption of the upcoming polls.
The opposition figure had threatened to boycott the October 28 election unless what he called “deep flaws” in the electoral system were addressed, accusing the long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) of rigging the process in its favor.
The CCM, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has governed Tanzania since independence in 1961.
Lissu has yet to enter a plea, but his lawyer maintains that the charges are politically motivated and aimed at silencing dissent ahead of the vote.
The court has banned live coverage of the trial following a state request to protect the identities of prosecution witnesses.
Lissu’s detention and the reported abductions of opposition figures in recent months have raised alarm over shrinking political freedoms under President Hassan, who is widely expected to win re-election by a landslide.
The National Electoral Commission barred CHADEMA from participating in the election in April, citing the party’s refusal to sign an official code of conduct.
The country’s second-largest opposition leader was also disqualified from running, leaving Hassan with only minor challengers.
Lissu, a vocal government critic and former lawmaker, survived a 2017 assassination attempt after being shot 16 times by unknown assailants. No one has ever been charged in the attack.
President Hassan initially earned praise for relaxing some of the repressive policies of her predecessor, the late John Magufuli, by reopening media space and engaging opposition parties.
But rights groups now accuse her administration of reverting to authoritarian tactics — including arbitrary arrests and intimidation of critics.
Hassan has repeatedly denied targeting opponents and last year ordered an investigation into alleged abductions. The findings have yet to be made public.
