"My body full of bullets, surgery scars" - Exiled Tanzania opposition leader recalls

Tanzanian politician Tundu Lissu during his correctional 25th surgery.

BRUSSELS, Belgium

On September 7, 2017, four years down the line, the Tanzanian lawyer and opposition politician Tundu Lissu survived an assassination attempt.

Lissu was heading to his residential house in Dodoma City as a normal routine after the morning session in Parliament before two gunmen attacked him with an aim of getting rid of him.

Before the attack, Lissu said that he had been traced for a couple of days by the people he knew.

The gunmen sprayed bullets into his car, and 16 got him, breaking his legs and arms.

Since the attack, the lawyer has said that how he survived the nightmare is a miracle.

Following the attack, Lissu was flown to Kenya where he received medical treatment at the Nairobi Hospital before seeking further treatment in Belgium.

Lissu has undergone 25 surgeries, out of which 16 were performed in Kenya.

“Sixteen surgeries were done in Nairobi, and eight in Belgium. My body is a full map of scars of bullets and surgical knives,” he said.

While recalling the attack on Tuesday, Lissu said in a video that he was about to undergo the 26th surgery, but doctors advised him not to since it might negatively affect him.

“The doctors said no. That they will not undertake any surgery since it might cause more troubles to my body than the way it is,” Lissu said.

During the attack, Lissu was serving as a Member of Parliament for Singida East, and also served as the opposition’s chief whip.

He was a great critic of the late President John Magufuli’s administration and criticised it for swindling the taxpayers’ money.

Lissu had been arrested several times in 2017 and accused of insulting the president.

However, the arrests did not stop him from his watchdog’s role.

In the same year, Lissu expressed his interest in the presidency using the opposition party CHADEMA.

After the attack, Lissu sought asylum in Belgium but continued with his calls for the respect of human rights in Tanzania.

Following the interest for the top seat, Lissu returned to Tanzania in 2020 when Chadema announced him the flag-bearer.

He returned home to campaign ahead of the October 2020 elections, which was won by Magufuli of Chama Cha Mapinduzi CCM.

However, Lissu and the opposition party dismissed the results, claiming that there were numerous cases of rigging.

After losing, he returned to Belgium and has not stepped in Tanzania since then, and did not attend the burial of Magufuli.

He has also written to President Samia Suluhu who took over from Magufuli to inquire and make public the name of the people who were behind his attempted murder.

Lissu said that nothing has been done to apprehend those who were behind his life attempt, which he said is the hindrance to his return to home.

In June this year, Lissu said that he tried to reach the president through her secretary Juma Mkomi to address the issues of the country, but he has not received feedback from the president.