Tanzanian authorities have detained prominent figures from the opposition Chadema party, including former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu, along with hundreds of youth supporters, a Chadema official confirmed on Monday.
The arrests occurred in the southwestern city of Mbeya, where Chadema had planned a rally to celebrate International Youth Day. John Mrema, Chadema’s Director of Communications and Foreign Affairs, stated that approximately 500 youth supporters were detained by police as they made their way to the event and were subsequently escorted back to their homes.
Police had announced a ban on the youth gathering the day before, accusing Chadema of planning violent demonstrations. The event was expected to draw around 10,000 young people under the slogan “Take charge of your future.”
Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe condemned the arrests of Lissu, Secretary General John Mnyika, Zonal Chair Joseph Mbilinyi, and other youth leaders, demanding their immediate and unconditional release. Mbowe vowed to keep the public informed of further developments.
Despite the police ban, Chadema officials had urged President Samia Suluhu Hassan to intervene. Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 following the sudden death of President John Magufuli, has been praised for distancing herself from Magufuli’s authoritarian policies and introducing political reforms, including lifting a 2016 ban on opposition rallies.
Lissu, who returned to Tanzania after the ban was lifted, had spent five years in exile following an assassination attempt in 2017. His arrest is the latest in a series of crackdowns on Chadema leaders, including Mbowe’s seven-month detention in 2022 just before a planned public forum on constitutional reforms.
Tanzania’s police chief, Awadh Haji, justified the ban by stating there were “clear indications” that Chadema intended to incite violence rather than celebrate International Youth Day. Despite the ban, Lissu had insisted that the youth event would proceed as planned, urging the public to stand up against what he described as a return to the repressive tactics of the Magufuli era.
As Tanzania prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections next year, these arrests have heightened political tensions and raised concerns about the country’s democratic trajectory.
