Tundu Lissu treason verdict expected on 6 November
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
The treason trial of Tundu Lissu, leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, is due to reach a verdict on 6 November in Dar es Salaam. The charge, which carries the death penalty, is denounced as an attempt to silence the opposition, according to Hussein Khalid, head of Vocal Africa.
The High Court in Dar es Salaam is due to deliver its verdict on Friday 6 November in the treason trial of Tundu Lissu, leader of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema. The offence carries the death penalty in Tanzania, Africanews reports with the Associated Press.
Tundu Lissu has been detained for more than 18 months. He was arrested on 9 April 2025 after a rally focused on electoral reforms and charged the following day. Hussein Khalid, director-general of the organisation Vocal Africa, believes that a conviction would deprive the opposition of a leader able to demand good governance, respect for human rights and the defence of democracy.
Hussein Khalid considers the charges unfounded and says the proceedings are intended to silence the opposition, according to Africanews. Tundu Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times, also threatened at the end of October to begin a hunger strike to protest restrictions imposed on his private consultations with his lawyers.
The expected verdict follows the hunger strike begun by Tundu Lissu on 27 October. It comes after the treason charge against Chadema official John Pambalu on 23 October in separate proceedings.
