Prominent Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu was taken into custody by law enforcement on Wednesday, according to his party, following a rally in the southern part of the country.
The Chadema party announced on X that Lissu, who serves as its chairman, “has been apprehended along with other members” and brought into detention after the event in Mbinga, located in the Ruvuma Region.
The party released a brief statement indicating that they are monitoring the situation, but it remains unclear which police station they have been taken to. They also mentioned that law enforcement was “dispersing citizens at the location using tear gas.”
In a different post on X, the party urged the police to “immediately and unconditionally release our leaders.”
Lissu was elected chairman of his party in January, defeating the long-standing leader Freeman Mbowe. In November, he was arrested before local elections, which the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), won.
Chadema alleged that the elections were manipulated, with Mbowe asserting that “the results were entirely not credible.”
The party has announced plans to appeal to the High Court and request reforms before a national election this year.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who rose to power from the vice presidency in 2021, was initially praised for loosening the restrictions imposed by previous leader John Magufuli on the opposition and the media in the nation of approximately 67 million people.
However, human rights organizations and Western governments have condemned what they perceive as a resurgence of repression, highlighted by the detention of Chadema politicians as well as the abductions and murders of opposition figures.
