Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu will face trial on treason charges after a High Court ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. The ruling, delivered Friday by a three-judge panel, comes after prosecutors presented evidence and called 17 witnesses against Lissu, the leader of the opposition Chadema party . He has been in detention since April 2025 after being charged with treason, an offence that carries the death penalty in Tanzania. Lissu has rejected the charges and described the case as politically motivated. He was arrested following his

Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu will face trial on treason charges after a High Court ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. The ruling, delivered Friday by a three-judge panel, comes after prosecutors presented evidence and called 17 witnesses against Lissu, the leader of the opposition Chadema party. He has been in detention since April 2025 after being charged with treason, an offence that carries the death penalty in Tanzania. Lissu has rejected the charges and described the case as politically motivated. He was arrested following his party’s campaign calling for electoral reforms under the slogan “No Reforms, No Elections”, ahead of Tanzania’s 2025 elections. During Friday’s hearing, Lissu, who is representing himself, told the court that he intends to call several senior government officials as defence witnesses, including President Samia Suluhu Hassan. He also raised concerns about difficulties meeting his lawyers and witnesses while in prison. The court proceedings took place under tight security, with Lissu’s supporters filling the courtroom and foreign diplomats attending the hearing. His supporters expressed disappointment with the decision but said they would continue to seek justice through the next stage of the proceedings. The case comes amid continued international scrutiny of Tanzania’s political environment. Opposition groups and rights organisations have accused security forces of using excessive force during deadly protests surrounding last year’s elections. The government has said more than 500 people were killed during the unrest, although it has not attributed responsibility for the deaths. Lissu, a long-time opposition figure who returned to Tanzania from exile in 2023, has faced repeated arrests and survived an assassination attempt in 2017. His treason trial is now expected to become a major test of Tanzania’s political and judicial climate.

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