Tanzania’s main opposition party has escalated its concerns to the African Union, urging the body to address what it calls the unjust detention of its leader, Tundu Lissu, while questioning the credibility of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s role at the AU summit.
CHADEMA says the situation reflects a broader erosion of democratic rights in the country.
In a statement sent to the African Union’s top officials during the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) highlighted that Lissu has been held for over 250 days on treason accusations.
The party described his treatment as severe, punitive, and inhumane, raising serious human rights concerns.
The opposition claims Lissu faces prolonged isolation, restricted access to legal representation and visitors, and other confinement measures that violate basic human dignity.
CHADEMA drew historical comparisons, citing the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela during apartheid South Africa as a parallel to the political repression Lissu is enduring.
Beyond his detention, CHADEMA accused the government of tightening control over political activity, restricting independent media, criminalising dissent, and violently dispersing peaceful protesters following the October 29 general election.
The party also pointed to reports of deaths, disappearances, and serious injuries inflicted by state security forces.
"What occurred in Tanzania before, during, and after the October 29 general election was not an electoral imperfection. It was not a technical administrative failure. It was a deliberate and systematic suppression of democratic competition," CHADEMA’s statement read.
The party further questioned President Samia’s attendance at the AU summit, suggesting her government’s legitimacy is compromised by the alleged violations of civil and political freedoms.
CHADEMA warned that allowing leaders accused of human rights abuses to participate without scrutiny could set a dangerous precedent across the continent.
"If leaders accused of presiding over grave human rights violations and a fundamentally compromised electoral process are received without scrutiny, what message does this send to the people of Africa? What message does it send to the youth of Tanzania who protested peacefully and were met with bullets? What message does it send to families who lost loved ones?" the statement asked.
CHADEMA called on the African Union to publicly address Tanzania’s electoral process, back independent investigations into reported violations, condemn the use of treason laws against political opponents, and reiterate that political authority must come from citizens’ freely expressed will rather than fear or coercion.
"The African Union was founded to protect African peoples, not to shield leaders from accountability. Silence in the face of bloodshed is not neutrality. It is a deliberate choice. The people of Tanzania and the people of Africa are watching," CHADEMA concluded.
