DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Freeman Mbowe, leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, has appeared in court to face “terrorism” charges, in a case denounced by his supporters as a politically motivated move aimed at crushing dissent.
Freeman Mbowe has been behind bars since July 21 when he was arrested along with other senior Chadema officials |
The 59-year-old chairman of the Chadema party has been behind bars
since July 21 when he was arrested along with other senior party officials in a
night-time police raid just hours before they were to hold a public forum to
demand constitutional reforms.
The trial at the country’s high court in Dar-es-Salaam opened on
Tuesday under tight security, with most journalists banned from the courtroom by
police.
President Samia Hassan’s government, citing COVID-19 regulations
and security, had warned foreign diplomats against turning up to the court to
follow the case without notifying the foreign ministry.
Representatives from the British and US embassies were present at the hearing, which was also attended by Chadema’s senior leaders.
On Monday, Mbowe had appeared in court to pursue a case against
top legal officials, claiming his constitutional rights had been violated
during his arrest and when he was charged.
The opposition has denounced the arrests as a throwback to the
oppressive rule of Tanzania’s late leader John Magufuli who died suddenly in
March.
There had been hope Hassan would bring about a new era of
democracy after the increasingly heavy-handed rule of Magufuli but Chadema
leaders say the arrests of Mbowe and his colleagues reflect a deepening slide
into “dictatorship”.
They have accused the government of meddling in the case and want
the court to dismiss the charges.
The government denies the allegations.
Earlier this month, rights group Amnesty International asked the government to “substantiate charges” against Mbowe or release him.
“His arrest and continued detention appears to be a tactic to
silence critical voices as part of a growing crackdown against the political
opposition,” Amnesty said in
a Twitter post.
Prosecutors say the allegations against Mbowe do not relate to the
constitutional reform conference Chadema had planned to hold in the port city
of Mwanza in July but rather to alleged offences last year in another part of
Tanzania.
Chadema has said prosecutors accuse Mbowe of conspiring to attack
a public official, and giving 600,000 Tanzanian shillings ($260) towards
blowing up petrol stations and public gatherings and cutting down trees to
block roads.
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