Tundu Lissu, a prominent member of Tanzania‘s opposition and a former contender for president, was arrested by police on Sunday night and then released on bail early on Monday.
Since his return from exile in January, Lissu has addressed political gatherings all over the nation, criticising President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration for its record on human rights and its handling of a contentious ports management arrangement.
Lissu, the deputy chairman of Tanzania’s largest opposition party CHADEMA, was detained at a hotel on Sunday along with other party officials in the Arusha region of northern Tanzania before being released that evening, according to a statement from Lissu’s party on the social media site X.
After Hassan abolished a six-year prohibition on political rallies, he made his way back from exile. He had been living in Belgium ever since he left the country in 2020 after John Magufuli won the presidential election.
Lissu and three other individuals were reportedly detained by police on Sunday for interrogation in connection with claims that they were conducting an unauthorised gathering and impeding the performance of police duties.
Lissu and other party members were seen in a brief video uploaded on X flashing the CHADEMA-standard V-for-victory hand gesture.
