Skip to content
Moojaz — موجز
Search
Menu
HomeRegionsMaghrebAfricaMiddle EastEuropeAsiaAmericasWorldSectionsPoliticsEconomySecurityHealthScienceTechnologyAIEnvironmentCultureSportsSearch
United Republic of Tanzania
File

Tanzania: Tundu Lissu’s detention and access to lawyers

Published Updated

This dossier follows Tundu Lissu’s detention, access to defence and court decisions affecting his liberty. It distinguishes judicial findings from the opposition leader’s allegations of political persecution.

Latest event : 2 key moments
Editorial principlesReport an error
Tundu Lissu speaking in parliament.
Tundu Lissu in parliament in Dodoma. 2017 file photograph; does not depict the 2026 verdict. Likumbage, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified. — Likumbage — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ — archives, sans modification

Where things stand

As of 6 November 2026, Lissu has been acquitted of treason but sentenced to four years for incitement. He disputes the substituted offence and seeks bail pending appeal; no release has been established.

Browse the full timeline

Confirmed

Tanzania: Lissu cleared of treason but sentenced to four years in prison

Tanzania’s High Court acquitted CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu of treason on 6 November 2026 but sentenced him to four years in prison for incitement. The verdict in Dar es Salaam therefore did not secure his release.

Tundu Lissu speaking in parliament.
Tundu Lissu in parliament in Dodoma. 2017 file photograph; does not depict the 2026 verdict. Likumbage, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified. — Likumbage — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ — archives, sans modification

The judges found that prosecutors had not established the intention to intimidate the government required for treason. They nevertheless convicted him of incitement over calls to obstruct the 2025 election, according to reporting by The Chanzo and Tanzania’s Guardian.

Lissu disputes the substitution, arguing that he was not charged with that offence and alleging political persecution. The court maintained that he had notice of the related offence and an opportunity to defend himself. His allegation of political interference is the opposition leader’s position, rather than an established finding.

The Chanzo reports that he requested bail pending appeal. No grant of bail was announced at the end of proceedings, and the account does not specify how time already spent in custody will be credited against the sentence.

Sources 2
Contested

Tanzania: Lissu’s lawyer reports end of brief hunger strike

Tundu Lissu ended a brief hunger strike on 27 October 2026 after meeting privately with his brother, his lawyer told Associated Press. Prison authorities separately dispute reports of a strike announced for 26 October.

Tundu Lissu in parliament in Dodoma, archive photograph. It does not show his detention in 2026. Likumbage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tundu Lissu in parliament in Dodoma, archive photograph. It does not show his detention in 2026. Likumbage, CC BY-SA 4.0. — Likumbage — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ — archives, sans modification

Rugemeleza Nshala told AP that the opposition leader refused food on Tuesday morning after promised legal consultations did not take place on Monday. He said Lissu resumed eating after lunchtime following the family meeting.

A prison statement reported in Swahili by Uhuru instead says that he did not begin the strike described as starting on the 26th and that lawyers can visit after their status is verified. The sources do not resolve the differing accounts of timing and access conditions.

The Chadema leader remains detained in a treason case. AP reports that judgment is scheduled for 6 November; that date is not a judgment already delivered.

Sources 3