Lissu is missing from jail, Tanzania's Chadema now claims

Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, announced on Friday that it was unable to determine the location of its leader, Tundu Lissu, following his transfer from the jail where he had been detained after his recent arrest on treason charges.

According to senior party members, Lissu’s legal team, and his relatives, multiple attempts were made throughout Friday to visit him at the Dar es Salaam jail, where he had been held since April 9, but all efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

"Chadema (sic) would like the Prisons Service and concerned government agencies to give information on where Lissu has been taken," the party said in a statement.

The Prisons Service denied that Lissu had been moved from jail.

"Such information is misinformation and false. We would like to inform the public that Tundu Lissu is safe, and he is still detained at Keko Prison in Dar es Salaam according to the country’s laws and procedures," Elizabeth Mbezi, Tanzania Prisons Service spokesperson, said in a statement.

Tundu Lissu, who finished second in Tanzania’s 2020 presidential race, was recently charged with treason after prosecutors accused him of delivering a speech that allegedly incited rebellion and called for disruption of the upcoming elections.

However, he was not allowed to enter a plea regarding the charge.

The case is expected to draw renewed attention to President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s human rights track record as she seeks re-election later this year.

Meanwhile, the electoral commission announced last weekend that Chadema faces disqualification from participating in the October polls, citing the party’s refusal to sign a code of conduct amid its ongoing push for electoral reforms.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan initially received commendation after assuming office in 2021 for loosening the grip on political repression and media censorship that had intensified under her predecessor, the late John Magufuli.

However, growing concerns have been raised by human rights advocates over a wave of arrests, mysterious abductions, and unexplained killings targeting opposition figures.

In response, Hassan has maintained that her administration is dedicated to upholding human rights and, last year, commissioned an investigation into the reported cases of abductions.