As Tanzania heads toward presidential and legislative elections in October, opposition figures are under mounting pressure. On Monday, a high court confirmed that opposition leader Tundu Lissu will face trial on treason charges, rejecting his appeal to dismiss the case over procedural issues. Lissu, arrested in April after a speech prosecutors claimed urged voters to disrupt the elections, has remained in prison since. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The decision comes amid growing restrictions on opposition parties. In April, Lissu’s CHADEMA party, the country’s largest opposition force, was barred from participating in the upcoming elections. And just this week, the electoral commission disqualified presidential hopeful Luhaga Mpina, leader of ACT-Wazalendo, Tanzania’s second-largest opposition party. The party denounced the move as “baseless” and politically motivated. With both Lissu and Mpina sidelined, incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan appears set for a largely uncontested race, with only minor-party candidates still in play.
Rights groups say the moves are part of a broader crackdown. In June, United Nations human rights experts urged the Tanzanian government to stop using enforced disappearances, media restrictions, and intimidation of activists as “tools of repression” in the electoral context. Observers warn that the erosion of opposition space could undermine public confidence in the October elections and weaken Tanzania’s democratic credibility.
