Tanzanian opposition leader found guilty of inciting unrest but acquitted of treason

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Nov 6 — Tanzania’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, has been found guilty of inciting unrest and sentenced to four years in jail, in a case that has raised concerns about political freedom in the East African country.

A panel of three judges at the High Court in Dar es Salaam acquitted him of the more serious offence of treason, saying prosecutors had failed to prove a key element of that charge.

But they said the 58-year-old, who has been detained since April last year, had encouraged his supporters to disrupt the disputed 2025 general election.

Lissu, who leads the opposition Chadema party, has denied the charges, describing the prosecution as politically motivated.

The court said his campaign slogan “No Reforms, No Election” was sufficient for him to be convicted of the charge of incitement.

“By uttering those words with the intention of disseminating them to the public, the accused incited the public to disrupt the 2025 elections,” the court ruled.

Lissu said he had only been charged with treason, not incitement.

“The offense of incitement is one that you, honourable judges, have manufactured. You have created an offense that did not exist, and you have done so on political directives,” Lissu told the court.

He added that he would like to apply for bail as this was possible for incitement, unlike treason.

He has leave to appeal at the Court of Appeal – the country’s highest court.

Treason is among Tanzania’s most serious offences and can carry the death penalty.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 2025 election with 98% of the vote – a result the opposition dismissed the result as a “mockery” of democracy as her two main challengers, including Lissu, were excluded.

Her government has repeatedly denied targeting its opponents.

The Chadema leader was arrested six months before the poll, shortly after launching a campaign demanding changes to the electoral system under the slogan “No Reforms, No Election”.

Prosecutors accused him of making statements intended to incite the public to disrupt the election and threaten the government.

They argued that his remarks, which were also circulated online, amounted to treason.

But Lissu, a lawyer who represented himself during the trial, maintained that his comments were part of a legitimate political campaign for constitutional and electoral reform.

He argued that prosecutors had taken his statements out of context and failed to prove that he had committed any crime.

Some of the demands raised by Chadema were:

During his time in remand custody at Dar es Salaam’s Ukonga Prison, Lissu went on hunger strike twice for brief periods when he said he was not allowed access to his lawyers or relatives. He also complained that guards listened to what should have been private consultations his lawyers.

These allegations have been denied by the prison authorities.

His case has attracted international attention, with rights groups expressing concern about the treatment of opposition politicians and the shrinking space for political dissent in Tanzania.

Last year’s election was followed by widespread protests and a violent security crackdown that left at least 500 people dead, according to an official inquiry.

Opposition groups have said the death toll was much higher and demanded an independent investigation.

The government has defended its handling of the unrest and rejected accusations of widespread political repression.

Samia, 66, has insisted the election was fair and transparent and blamed foreigners for the unrest, saying it was part of a plot to overthrow her. She has set up another commission to inquiry to identify those behind the violence.

Lissu has long been one of Tanzania’s most outspoken critics of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which, along with its predecessor Tanu, has dominated the country’s politics since independence.

He first became an MP in 2010, representing a constituency near his birth place in Singida, 320km (200 miles) north-west of the capital, Dodoma.

In September 2017, the Chadema politician narrowly survived an assassination attempt when gunmen sprayed his vehicle with bullets outside his home in Dodoma.

He was shot multiple times and underwent extensive medical treatment abroad.

The attack, whose perpetrators have never been brought to justice, forced him to spend years outside Tanzania.

He returned to contest the 2020 presidential election against the late President John Magufuli, but lost in a vote that the opposition alleged was marred by widespread irregularities.

Lissu subsequently returned to exile before coming back to Tanzania in 2023, following President Samia’s decision to lift a ban on opposition political rallies.

His return was initially seen as a sign of renewed political openness after years of restrictions under Magufuli, who died in office in 2021.

But relations between the government and the opposition deteriorated as the country approached the 2025 election.

Lissu became Chadema’s national chairman in January 2025 and intensified his demands for electoral reforms.

His conviction is likely to deepen concerns about the state of democracy in Tanzania.

Last week, rights group Amnesty International accused the government of continuing its crackdown following the election and “weaponising counterterrorism laws to silence critics and instil fear”.

The authorities did not respond to a request for comment.