NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzanian police arrested several high-profile opposition figures on Monday, including the chairman and deputy chairman of the country’s main opposition party, CHADEMA. The arrests came ahead of planned protests against what the party alleges is a government crackdown on its supporters.
Hundreds of CHADEMA supporters were detained last month, and party secretariat member Ali Kibao was abducted and later found dead with signs of torture and acid burns. Amnesty International condemned the “arbitrary detentions of political opposition” in Tanzania at the time.
Authorities justified Monday’s arrests by claiming that party officials were defying a prohibition on protests.
CHADEMA issued a statement stating that its chairman, Freeman Mbowe, deputy chairman, Tundu Lissu, and six other party officials were apprehended at various locations. The party emphasized that the planned protests were constitutional and that police had been notified as required by law.
Mbowe and Lissu were previously arrested in August but were later released.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who assumed office after the death of President John Magufuli in 2021, has taken steps to improve Tanzania’s political climate, including lifting bans on rallies. However, the recent killing of Kibao, which she swiftly condemned, sparked widespread outrage.
Magufuli’s authoritarian rule was characterized by allegations of human rights abuses, including a complete ban on opposition political rallies.
Tanzania is scheduled to hold general elections in 2025.
