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Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Leader of Tanzania's main opposition party could face death penalty
The security at the court building was extraordinary: a rooftop sniper, police with dogs and tear-gas launchers, vans with darkened windows, and a small army of black-masked guards with armoured jackets and submachine guns. But the defendant in the courtroom is not a dangerous terrorist. He is a politician, a leader of Tanzania's main opposition party who faces a highly organized operation to prevent him from running in this year's election. Tundu Lissu, chairman of the Chadema party, is on trial for treason − a charge that carries the death penalty. His prosecution, protested by human-rights groups around the world, exposes the sharp decline of democracy in a country that Western donors have long favoured with billions of dollars in aid. Mr. Lissu has endured countless arrests and attacks over the past decade. In 2017, gunmen with assault rifles sprayed dozens of bullets at his vehicle, nearly killing him. After three years in exile and a long recovery in hospital from 16 bullet wounds, he returned fearlessly to politics, contesting Tanzania's 2020 election as an opposition candidate and finishing second in official results. This year, Tanzania's authoritarian government seems determined to prevent him from running again. His party has been banned from the October election after authorities accused it of failing to accept an electoral code of conduct. Many of its top officials, along with other activists, have been arrested or harassed in recent weeks. And now, Mr. Lissu faces a potential death sentence. He was arrested in April after he called for reforms in Tanzania's electoral system. 'This is not a normal trial,' the 57-year-old politician told the judge at his latest hearing on Monday. 'I have not been sentenced, yet I am held in the death-row block. I am watched night and day. I cannot speak to my lawyers in private. Not a single private conversation has been allowed.' From 2020: Gunshots and tear gas fail to deter Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu He described how two guards keep him under constant watch, day and night. He is even barred from joining other detainees in the prison's exercise yard. Instead, he is required to walk alone in a dirty drainage-ditch area. Because his conversations with his lawyers are closely monitored, Mr. Lissu told the court that it is impossible for him to discuss strategy with them and he will be obliged to defend himself without any lawyers. Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the opposition slogan – 'No reforms, no election' – he smiled and flashed a victory sign at local reporters. Outside the court, his supporters chanted his name and waved placards demanding justice, but their voices were nearly drowned out by police sirens. Most of his supporters were denied permission to enter the crowded courtroom. A senior Tanzanian official told The Globe and Mail that the government's goal is to keep Mr. Lissu in prison until after the October election, to prevent him from running. After the vote, he will be quietly released, the official said. The Globe is not identifying the official because he could face retribution from the authorities for speaking out. Tanzania has been governed by a single party since its independence in 1961. The ruling party, today known as Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, the Revolutionary Party), has dominated all aspects of Tanzanian life and rarely tolerates much dissent. Its opponents have accused it of rigging recent elections to deliver huge majorities to CCM. Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy and rights group, recently announced that it had downgraded Tanzania's status from 'partly free' to 'not free' because of the government's repressive measures. Despite this, Tanzania has remained a Western aid darling, and one of the largest recipients of Canadian foreign aid. Canada has provided $3.4-billion in international assistance to Tanzania since its independence, including $141-million in 2023-24, according to data from Global Affairs Canada. As the election approaches, a growing number of opposition politicians and activists have been kidnapped in what amount to 'enforced disappearances,' according to a report by United Nations human-rights experts. They described it as 'a flagrant tactic to suppress dissent.' In one of the most shocking cases, two activists from Kenya and Uganda who tried to attend Mr. Lissu's treason trial were arrested and disappeared for days. They were later dumped in remote border towns. Both gave detailed accounts of how they were tortured and sexually assaulted by Tanzanian security agents. Even churches have fallen victim to the crackdown. This month, authorities ordered the shutdown of a prominent church and arrested a dozen of its worshippers after its bishop criticized the disappearance of opposition activists. The bishop, Josephat Gwajima, is an outspoken MP who has complained of 'creeping authoritarianism' in the country. Witnesses described how police raided the church, even arresting a disabled woman in a wheelchair, dragging her away and throwing her into a police vehicle. Mr. Gwajima has fled into hiding, leaving a prerecorded sermon in which he says: 'They can shut down the church, but they cannot shut down the people's spirit.' Last Sunday, hundreds of his followers held a defiant outdoor service. 'We are not criminals,' said Rehema Moses, a long-time congregant. 'We are citizens exercising our right to believe.'
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Tanzania arrests opposition official travelling to political conference
May 13 (Reuters) - Tanzanian authorities arrested a senior opposition official as he was departing for a political conference in Belgium, his party said on Tuesday, as fears grow of an escalating crackdown ahead of an October election. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who plans to seek reelection, says the government is committed to respecting human rights, a recent string of high-profile arrests has thrust her record into the spotlight. Amani Golugwa, a senior member of Tanzania's main opposition CHADEMA party, was arrested at Julius Nyerere International Airport in the capital Dar es Salaam on Monday, his party wrote on X. Tanzanian police confirmed his arrest in a post on their Instagram account, writing that Golugwa "has a trend of leaving and returning to the country without following legal procedures." "Dar es Salaam police special zone is continuing with the investigation on the matter in collaboration with other security organs," the post added. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Golugwa had been due to represent his party in Brussels at a forum organised by the International Democracy Union, a grouping of centre-right parties that CHADEMA belongs to and which also counts the British Conservatives and U.S. Republicans as members. "The IDU strongly condemns the unlawful arrest and assault of CHADEMA's (Golugwa)," the organisation posted on X. "Silencing opposition voices violates the core of democracy. We call for his immediate release." Police arrested Tundu Lissu, CHADEMA's leader and Tanzania's main opposition figure, last month. Lissu, who was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack and came second in the last presidential poll, was subsequently charged with treason over what prosecutors said was a speech calling upon the public to rebel and disrupt the elections. He had held several rallies in early April under the slogan "No Reforms, No Election", where CHADEMA demanded significant changes to an electoral process they say favours the ruling party. Days after Lissu's arrest, the election commission disqualified CHADEMA from participating in the polls over its refusal to sign a code of conduct.
