Tanzania opposition leader cleared of treason, sentenced to 4 years for incitement
Photo: Africa BriefingA Tanzanian court acquitted opposition leader Tundu Lissu of treason on Friday but convicted him of incitement and sentenced him to four years in prison, in a case his supporters and rights groups say was politically motivated. Treason carried a possible death sentence.
The three-judge panel of the High Court in Dar es Salaam ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove that Lissu intended to intimidate the government, an element required for the treason charge. But the judges found that his calls for electoral reform — including the campaign slogan "No Reforms, No Election" — amounted to incitement under the country's Penal Code, and convicted him of the lesser offense.
The charge grew out of a speech in which prosecutors said Lissu told supporters that the opposition would "block the election" and "mobilise rebellion" ahead of the October 2025 general election. Lissu, 58, pleaded not guilty, arguing that his remarks did not violate any law and that the charges were politically motivated. In court on Friday, he said he was innocent and called the case a political fabrication, according to The Associated Press.
Lissu, chairman of CHADEMA, Tanzania's main opposition party, was arrested on April 9, 2025, and charged with treason the next day. He had spent more than 18 months in detention by the time of Friday's verdict. His party said he plans to appeal the sentence, and his lawyer said the defense will also seek bail while the appeal is considered.
Police surrounded the courtroom in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, and crowds gathered nearby as authorities brought Lissu to the hearing in a heavily guarded convoy. Footage posted by CHADEMA showed him waving his fist and shouting "Do not fear!" in Swahili as he was escorted into court.
The case helped fuel the worst political unrest in Tanzania's history during the October 2025 elections. Lissu's arrest, along with CHADEMA's disqualification from the vote and allegations by rights groups that government critics were abducted, was a key driver of protests that broke out during the election. Hundreds died as police opened fire on protesters in multiple cities. A commission appointed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in April that at least 518 people were killed in the violence, which it blamed on protesters. Hassan was declared the winner of the election with nearly 98% of the vote.
Amnesty International called for the conviction and sentence to be quashed and for Lissu's unconditional release, alleging he had been denied confidential access to his lawyers and that the proceedings were unfair. The U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, William Trachman, wrote on X on Thursday that he was closely following the trial and its "broader implications for the rule of law." The U.S. government said last December that it was reviewing its relationship with Tanzania because of violence against civilians and other concerns.
Lissu survived being shot 16 times in an assassination attempt in 2017. No one has ever been charged in that case. He went into exile and returned briefly in 2020 to stand in the presidential election against then-President John Magufuli, finishing runner-up. He returned permanently in 2023 after Hassan eased the political repression that had intensified under Magufuli, who died in office in 2021. But Hassan soon faced growing criticism from human rights activists for cracking down on opponents, accusations she has denied.
Sources: Reuters, "Tanzania opposition leader cleared of treason, sentenced for inciting unrest" (Nov. 6, 2026, full text verified); The Associated Press (Nov. 6, 2026, as reported by Newstro); People's Daily (Kenya), "Tanzania court sentences Tundu Lissu as treason case takes new turn" (Nov. 6, 2026).
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