Tanzania police arrests top opposition figures in mass round-up

MBEYA, Tanzania 

Tanzanian police force have detained leading opposition Chadema party figures including former presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, and rounded up several hundred youth supporters, a Chadema spokesperson said on Monday.

Tundu Lissu survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times

The Chadema leaders were arrested in the southwestern city of Mbeya, where the party was due to hold a rally on Monday to mark International Youth Day, Chadema's director of communications and foreign affairs, John Mrema, told reporters late on Sunday.

He said that around 500 youth supporters had also been arrested by police as they were making their way to the Mbeya gathering and were being escorted back home.

Tanzanian police had announced Sunday a ban on the Chadema youth gathering, accusing the party of planning violent demonstrations.

The youth wing had said about 10,000 youngsters were expected to meet in Mbeya to mark International Youth Day under the slogan "Take charge of your future."

Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe said he "strongly" condemned the arrests of his deputy Lissu, secretary general John Mnyika, zonal chair Joseph Mbilinyi and leaders of the youth council.

"We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all our leaders, members, and supporters who were arrested in various parts of the country," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

"The party is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to inform the public of every development step by step."

Chadema officials had on Sunday denounced the police ban and called on President Samia Suluhu Hassan to intervene.

Since taking the helm in 2021 after the sudden death of president John Magufuli, Hassan has moved away from her predecessor's authoritarian policies and embarked on political reforms, including relaxing some restrictions on the media and the opposition.

In January 2023, she lifted a ban on opposition rallies imposed in 2016 by Magufuli, in an overture to political rivals seeking the restoration of democratic traditions.

Lissu had returned to Tanzania soon after Hassan lifted the ban, ending five years spent largely in exile following a 2017 assassination bid.

In March 2022, Mbowe was freed about seven months after he and other Chadema leaders were arrested just hours before the party was to hold a public forum to demand constitutional reforms.

Announcing the ban on Sunday, Awadh Haji, Tanzania's police chief in charge of operations and training, said the force had "clear indications that their aim is not to celebrate the International Youth Day but to initiate and engage in violence."

Lissu had on Sunday vowed that the youth event would go ahead as planned.

"President Samia, don't bring Magufuli's strange ways. International Youth Day is celebrated globally. Why are your police blocking Chadema youth on the road and arresting them?" he said on X.

"This is not a time to stay silent, be afraid, or just talk. It's a time to stand up and be counted. Let's raise our voices with all our strength!"

Tanzania is due to hold presidential and parliamentary polls late next year.