Leader of Tanzania's main opposition party could face death penalty
But the defendant in the courtroom is not a dangerous terrorist. He is a politician, a leader of Tanzania's main opposition party who faces a highly organized operation to prevent him from running in this year's election.
Tundu Lissu, chairman of the Chadema party, is on trial for treason − a charge that carries the death penalty. His prosecution, protested by human-rights groups around the world, exposes the sharp decline of democracy in a country that Western donors have long favoured with billions of dollars in aid.
Mr. Lissu has endured countless arrests and attacks over the past decade. In 2017, gunmen with assault rifles sprayed dozens of bullets at his vehicle, nearly killing him. After three years in exile and a long recovery in hospital from 16 bullet wounds, he returned fearlessly to politics, contesting Tanzania's 2020 election as an opposition candidate and finishing second in official results.
This year, Tanzania's authoritarian government seems determined to prevent him from running again. His party has been banned from the October election after authorities accused it of failing to accept an electoral code of conduct. Many of its top officials, along with other activists, have been arrested or harassed in recent weeks.
And now, Mr. Lissu faces a potential death sentence. He was arrested in April after he called for reforms in Tanzania's electoral system.
'This is not a normal trial,' the 57-year-old politician told the judge at his latest hearing on Monday. 'I have not been sentenced, yet I am held in the death-row block. I am watched night and day. I cannot speak to my lawyers in private. Not a single private conversation has been allowed.'
From 2020: Gunshots and tear gas fail to deter Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu
He described how two guards keep him under constant watch, day and night. He is even barred from joining other detainees in the prison's exercise yard. Instead, he is required to walk alone in a dirty drainage-ditch area.
Because his conversations with his lawyers are closely monitored, Mr. Lissu told the court that it is impossible for him to discuss strategy with them and he will be obliged to defend himself without any lawyers.
Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the opposition slogan – 'No reforms, no election' – he smiled and flashed a victory sign at local reporters. Outside the court, his supporters chanted his name and waved placards demanding justice, but their voices were nearly drowned out by police sirens. Most of his supporters were denied permission to enter the crowded courtroom.
A senior Tanzanian official told The Globe and Mail that the government's goal is to keep Mr. Lissu in prison until after the October election, to prevent him from running. After the vote, he will be quietly released, the official said. The Globe is not identifying the official because he could face retribution from the authorities for speaking out.
Tanzania has been governed by a single party since its independence in 1961. The ruling party, today known as Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, the Revolutionary Party), has dominated all aspects of Tanzanian life and rarely tolerates much dissent. Its opponents have accused it of rigging recent elections to deliver huge majorities to CCM.
Freedom House, a U.S.-based democracy and rights group, recently announced that it had downgraded Tanzania's status from 'partly free' to 'not free' because of the government's repressive measures.
Despite this, Tanzania has remained a Western aid darling, and one of the largest recipients of Canadian foreign aid. Canada has provided $3.4-billion in international assistance to Tanzania since its independence, including $141-million in 2023-24, according to data from Global Affairs Canada.
As the election approaches, a growing number of opposition politicians and activists have been kidnapped in what amount to 'enforced disappearances,' according to a report by United Nations human-rights experts. They described it as 'a flagrant tactic to suppress dissent.'
In one of the most shocking cases, two activists from Kenya and Uganda who tried to attend Mr. Lissu's treason trial were arrested and disappeared for days. They were later dumped in remote border towns. Both gave detailed accounts of how they were tortured and sexually assaulted by Tanzanian security agents.
Even churches have fallen victim to the crackdown. This month, authorities ordered the shutdown of a prominent church and arrested a dozen of its worshippers after its bishop criticized the disappearance of opposition activists. The bishop, Josephat Gwajima, is an outspoken MP who has complained of 'creeping authoritarianism' in the country.
Witnesses described how police raided the church, even arresting a disabled woman in a wheelchair, dragging her away and throwing her into a police vehicle.
Mr. Gwajima has fled into hiding, leaving a prerecorded sermon in which he says: 'They can shut down the church, but they cannot shut down the people's spirit.'
Last Sunday, hundreds of his followers held a defiant outdoor service. 'We are not criminals,' said Rehema Moses, a long-time congregant. 'We are citizens exercising our right to believe.'
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