Tanzanian opposition leader to face trial on treason charges
The three-judge panel said prosecutors showed enough evidence for Lissu to answer charges that he sought to stop the 2025 election.
- On Friday, the High Court in Dar es Salaam ruled that Chadema chairman Tundu Lissu has a case to answer in his treason trial, allowing him to present his defence before a three-judge panel led by Judge Dunstan Ndunguru.
- The treason charges stem from remarks Lissu allegedly made at Chadema headquarters in Dar es Salaam on April 3, 2025, when prosecutors allege he incited the public to prevent the 2025 General Election in violation of the Penal Code.
- Lissu told the court he would defend himself and requested to summon high-ranking officials including President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Vice-President Philip Mpango, and Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa as witnesses to support his defence.
- Senior State Attorney Nassoro Katuga opposed the request, arguing witnesses should have been identified during earlier proceedings. Senior State Attorney Ignas Mwinuka cited the Presidential Affairs Act, stating, "The court has no power to issue a summons."
- If convicted, Lissu faces the death penalty. Opposition groups accuse President Hassan of returning to the repressive tactics of predecessor John Magufuli, citing reports that more than 500 people died during election unrest.
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Daily Monitor
The East AfricanTanzania court: Lissu has case to answer on treason charges
Tundu Lissu has been in detention for 14 months.
‘Lissu has case to answer’
DAR ES SALAAM: THE High Court’s SubRegistry in Dar es Salaam has ruled that Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) Chairman Tundu Lissu has a case to answer in the treason case facing him, paving the way for the opposition leader to begin presenting his defence. A three-judge panel, headed by Justice Dunstan Ndunguru, delivered the ruling yesterday, alongside Justices James Karayemaha and Ferdinand Kiwonde. Reading Lissu had admitted that h…
Tanzania court rules Lissu has case to answer in treason trial
Tanzania’s High Court has ordered opposition leader Tundu Lissu to open his defence in a treason trial after finding that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for him to answer the charge. The decision on Friday, August 21, 2026, by a three-judge panel at the High Court’s Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry means Lissu, who has been in detention for 14 months, will now go on trial. Presiding judge Dunstan Ndunguru said the court had considered the e…
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