Tanzania’s top opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, appeared in court Monday to face treason charges after calling for electoral reforms ahead of the country’s general election in October—a charge that could carry the death penalty if convicted.
Wearing a T-shirt that read “no reforms, no election,” Lissu remained defiant, referencing the slogan that led to his April 9 arrest following a public rally. He had recently gone on a hunger strike in protest of being forced to appear virtually in court rather than in person.
Lissu, who chairs the opposition Chadema party, previously survived a 2017 assassination attempt and has spent time in exile due to threats against his life. During the hearing, he urged his supporters not to fear and signaled optimism with victory gestures.
Authorities requested two additional weeks to complete investigations, with the trial scheduled to resume on June 2.
Supporters of Lissu have faced a clampdown. Kenyan opposition leader Martha Karua was deported upon arriving in Tanzania, while former Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and three activists were detained. Kenya’s foreign ministry called for their immediate release.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government has been accused by rights groups of repressing opposition voices—allegations it denies. Hassan is seeking re-election in October, alongside parliamentary races. Chadema has long criticized the lack of an independent electoral body and electoral laws it says are designed to benefit the ruling CCM, in power since Tanzania gained independence in 1961.
