TANZANIAN police have arrested two prominent opposition leaders, Freeman Mbowe and Tundu Lissu, on Monday in a bid to halt anti-government protests in Dar es Salaam. Both leaders belong to the main opposition party CHADEMA, which had planned demonstrations to protest against alleged killings and abductions of government critics.
Freeman Mbowe, the party’s chairman, was detained on the street, while his deputy, Tundu Lissu, was taken from his home by a convoy of 11 vehicles, according to CHADEMA’s social media updates. The arrests are part of a wider effort to suppress dissent ahead of Tanzania’s local elections in December and a national vote scheduled for 2025.
The police confirmed that 14 individuals, including Mbowe and Lissu, were detained for defying a government ban on protests. There has been no immediate comment from President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration, which has previously defended its record on democracy and denied any allegations of political repression.
Rights activists have accused the government of increasingly targeting opposition figures in recent months. Earlier in September, another senior CHADEMA member was abducted, later found dead with signs of having been tortured, including acid burns on his face.
Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2016 after being shot 16 times, and Mbowe were both briefly detained last month, along with hundreds of their supporters, as part of a crackdown on political opposition.
The arrests come amid growing concerns over the Tanzanian government’s commitment to democratic freedoms and human rights, with tensions expected to rise further as the election season approaches.
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