Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu avoids death penalty

• AFP, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

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Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu was convicted yesterday on the lesser charge of incitement to unrest, avoiding the death penalty, in a treason trial that has drawn international condemnation.

Tanzania was considered one of the more stable democracies in Africa, but has seen its reputation plummet as the long-ruling government has cracked down brutally on the opposition and protests.

Lissu, head of the main opposition party, Chadema, was arrested ahead of last year’s presidential election on treason charges — which carry a potential death penalty — for allegedly inciting a poll boycott.

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu gestures to supporters at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

The court said he was not guilty of treason, but instead convicted him of incitement, which could lead to a sentence of five years in prison or a fine.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government carried out a wave of arrests and abductions targeting opponents and critics ahead of the vote in October last year, sparking huge protests during the election.

Authorities responded by killing thousands, the opposition and rights groups said.

The government puts the death toll at 518.

Security was heightened across Dar es Salaam and around the courthouse ahead of the verdict, as Lissu’s supporters gathered for the hearing.

Police on Wednesday warned against “those who want to stage a coup,” saying groups were mobilizing to travel to the city.

The case drew criticism from British and EU lawmakers, who described it as politically motivated and called for Lissu’s immediate release.

“The use of capital punishment against a political opponent risks turning the justice system into an instrument of political repression,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Tanzania’s president.

This was the first time the activist faced such serious charges, despite repeated arrests over his opposition to the government.

In 2017, he survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot 16 times, an attack he believes was politically motivated and which required him to undergo nearly 20 surgeries.

Lissu urged the three-judge panel to show “courage.”

“My hope is that you will carry that heavy historical burden without bias, with courage and with the dignity carried by your judicial oaths,” said Lissu, who represented himself in the case.