Tundu Lissu sentenced to four years in prison in Tanzania

The High Court of Dar es Salaam ultimately charged Tundu Lissu, president of the Tanzanian opposition party Chadema, with “incitement” to treason, a separate offence from the treason for which he was initially prosecuted. The opposition figure, who has been detained since April 2025, has the possibility of appealing his conviction, AIP reports.

Tuko specifies that a three-judge panel, led by Judge Dunstan Ndunguru, acquitted Lissu of the treason charge, finding that the prosecution had not established that he intended to intimidate the government, an element required for a treason conviction. The offence is punishable by death in Tanzania. The court instead found him guilty of incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code, relying on Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which allows a lesser offence to be retained.

The case concerned a speech delivered on 3 April 2025 at Chadema’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Prosecutors accused him of calling on his supporters to prevent and disrupt the October 2025 general elections, including by calling on the population to “block the election” and “mobilise the rebellion”. Judge Ndunguru found that his remarks encouraged actions aimed at disrupting the electoral process, and prosecution witnesses said they had influenced their participation in these activities, according to Tuko.

Lissu challenged his conviction, saying he had not been charged with incitement and accusing the judges of creating an alternative offence to keep him in detention. His party said it planned to appeal, according to Tuko. Lissu, 58, was arrested after calling for reform of the electoral system and threatening to resort to confrontation if his demands were not met, AIP reports. Chadema was subsequently excluded from the October 2025 general elections for refusing to sign a new electoral code of conduct, arguing that the reforms did not guarantee the transparency and credibility of the vote. The proceedings drew criticism from British parliamentarians and the European Union. The commission of inquiry set up by President Samia Suluhu Hassan recorded 518 deaths during the October 2025 electoral unrest, while the opposition and human rights organisations put the toll at around 2,000 deaths attributed to the security forces, according to AIP.