Keypoints:
- Lissu charged with treason over reform calls
- Case deepens political divide ahead of polls
- CHADEMA’s election role now under threat
TANZANIAN opposition figure Tundu Lissu, long known for surviving an assassination attempt and enduring multiple arrests, now faces the most serious charge of his political career: treason. The charge, which carries the death penalty, follows his party’s escalating demands for electoral reform.
Lissu, 57, is the newly elected leader of the main opposition party CHADEMA, which has adopted the slogan No Reforms, No Election’ in the lead-up to this year’s general elections. His arrest has thrown the party’s strategy into disarray and raised the stakes in a political climate already marked by distrust and division.
According to reporting by Reuters, Tanzanian prosecutors allege that Lissu has been inciting rebellion and attempting to disrupt the upcoming elections. He has been remanded in custody and has not yet entered a plea.
His lawyer insists the charges are politically motivated, part of a pattern of state repression against opposition voices in the East African nation.
‘He is passionate about politics. He genuinely wants change,’ political scientist Aikande Kwayu told Reuters. ‘But his approach is rigid—he sees only one way forward.’
A history of resistance and radicalism
Lissu’s political journey began in 1995, the year Tanzania held its first multi-party elections after decades of single-party rule. Though unsuccessful in his initial bid for a parliamentary seat, he built a reputation through his legal advocacy on human rights abuses while working at a non-profit organisation.
He was eventually elected to parliament in 2010 under CHADEMA’s banner and became vice-chairman before securing the party’s top post earlier this year after a contentious leadership battle.
Lissu’s uncompromising stance and confrontational style have seen him arrested numerous times. In 2017 alone, he was detained eight times and eventually targeted in a brutal assassination attempt outside his home in Dodoma. He survived 16 gunshot wounds and spent years in medical recovery in Kenya and Belgium, though he continued to monitor Tanzanian politics closely from exile.
‘The 2017 attack radicalised him. It made him fearless,’ said Nicodemus Minde of the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi. ‘It’s hard for him to compromise—and that’s both a strength and a liability.’
A shifting political landscape
Lissu returned to Tanzania in 2020 to challenge then-president John Magufuli in the general election but fled again shortly afterward due to death threats. When Magufuli died in 2021, his successor, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, signalled a possible democratic thaw by lifting the ban on political rallies and engaging with the opposition.
Lissu returned to a hero’s welcome in 2023, buoyed by hopes that Hassan’s administration might usher in more open politics. However, rights groups have since accused the government of renewed crackdowns, including reports of abductions and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures.
Though Hassan has publicly committed to upholding human rights and launched investigations into some abuses, critics say her administration still falls short of the reform promises initially made.
Last year, parliament passed a law to strengthen the independence of the electoral commission. But CHADEMA insists much more needs to be done, and under Lissu’s leadership, has threatened to boycott the 2025 elections unless sweeping changes are enacted.
‘There are fears that a boycott could hurt the party, because it will mean no representation in parliament,’ Minde told Reuters. CHADEMA currently holds 20 of the 393 seats in Tanzania’s legislature.
Charges that could reshape the election
Lissu’s arrest has intensified CHADEMA’s internal divisions, with some members questioning the wisdom of a boycott strategy. Others view the treason charges as a badge of honour for a leader seen as unyielding in the fight for democratic reform.
‘His supporters would likely see the treason charges as another feather in his cap,’ said Minde. ‘But these are grave and serious charges, and an indication that the government will do anything to stay in power.’
As the clock ticks down to national elections, Lissu’s case now stands as a litmus test for political freedom in Tanzania. Whether it galvanises support for reform or weakens CHADEMA’s hand remains to be seen.
