The Tanzanian government is once again facing accusations of serious human rights violation, following reports that opposition leader Tundu Lissu is now being held incommunicado.
CHADEMA Secretary General John Mnyika says party officials have been denied access to Lissu, the chair of Tanzania’s main opposition party, who is currently being held at Ukonga Prison.
According to Mnyika, prison officers blocked him at the gate, claiming they were acting on instructions from senior authorities not to permit any visits.
“Prison guards have blocked me from entering the Ukonga Prison today to see our Chairman Tundu Lissu,” he wrote in an X post on Sunday.
“They claim to have instructions that he should not meet with any CHADEMA leader. We will inform the public of the steps we will take following this incident.”
Lissu has been in custody since early this year, charged with treason over remarks in which he said the opposition would block the October 29 election.
His continued detention has drawn criticism locally and internationally, with even the European Union calling for his release.
In its resolution on Thursday, the European Parliament cited Lissu’s detention, along with that of other government critics, as part of the justification behind its proposal to suspend aid to Tanzania.
It also demanded that President Samia Suluhu’s administration revise its policies affecting the LGBTQ community and investigate the incidents reported during the October 29 protests.
CHADEMA leaders, for their part, insist that Lissu’s arrest is a political tactic aimed at sidelining him to ease President Samia’s path to re-election.
