Dar S Salaam: Opposition leader of Tanzania Tundu lisu On Thursday, it was prepared to appear in court to face the allegations of treason, which punishes a possible death, its party disqualified from the upcoming elections weeks after weeks.
Officials in the East African nation have rapidly crack the opposition Chadema party Ahead of the President and Parliamentary elections in October. Chadema accused President Samiya Suluhu Hasan of returning to his predecessor John Magufuli’s repressive strategy.
Amnesty International Lisu has called for an immediate and unconditional release, while his deputy, John Heche, who was briefly detained this week, urged the protest. 57 -year -old Lisu, Tanzania’s trade capital, Dar S Salaam in a court in the early hours of Thursday.
He has not been observed since the presence of a brief court on 10 April when he was accused of treason, which has no option of bail, and “publishing false information”. At that time, Lisu, a defense, told the supporters: “The case of treason is the path of liberation.”
He has been arrested several times in the past, but this is the first time he has faced such a serious crime. The Paguti leader has led a tremendous charge against the government, promising that his party will not participate in elections without significant electoral reforms.
Chadema’s refusal to sign an election “Code of Conduct” inspired its disqualification, but the party stated that the rules were “designed to ensure that the ruling party remained in power” and its ban was unconstitutional.
Refusal of optimism:
The President’s party, Chama Cha Mapinduji (CCM) won a huge victory in local elections last year, but Chadema says the vote was not independent or fair as many of its candidates were arbitrarily disqualified.
Chadema has demanded voting reforms, including a more independent electoral commission and clear rules so that the candidates do not be removed from the ballot papers. Lisu warned last year that Chadema “would block the elections through a conflict” until the system was improved.
The opposition’s demands have been ignored by the ruling party for a long time. Lisu, a lawyer from training, entered Parliament in 2010 and fled to the President in 2020. He was shot 16 times in a 2017 attack that he believes that he was ordered by his political opponents.
After losing the 2020 election to Magufuli, he fled from the country, but returned to a wave of optimism in 2023 as Hassan moved to rest some restrictions of his predecessor on the opposition and the media. They proved to be short-term, rights groups and Western governments criticized for fresh suppression, including the arrest of Chadema’s politicians as well as the kidnapping and opposition figures.
In a statement after Lisu’s custody, Amnesty described the “Daman’s campaign” by the authorities, “critics criticized a heavy strategy for silence”.
