Tanzania police detain opposition officials on way to court, party says

Police in Tanzania detained two senior opposition figures on Thursday as the men drove to a court hearing for their leader Tundu Lissu, who has been charged with treason, their party said.

CHADEMA party Deputy Chairperson John Heche and Secretary General John Mnyika were detained as they headed to Kisutu Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia said.

"We are continuing to witness grave violations of human rights, civic freedom and rule of law in our country," Rupia said on X. "We won't allow our nation to return to the darkness of fear, threats and oppression."

A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan says the government is committed to respecting human rights and ordered an investigation into a series of abductions last year, when several government critics were kidnapped and injured or killed.

Lissu refused to participate in the court hearing after authorities decided to conduct a virtual trial, with him appearing via video link from prison, Rupia later posted on X.

The refusal to bring Lissu physically to the court "infringes upon the right of the accused person," she said.

The hearing was adjourned to May 6, Jebra Kambole, Lissu's lawyer, told Reuters.

Lissu, who was runner-up in a presidential election in 2020, was charged with treason this month over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt presidential and parliamentary elections that are expected to take place in October.

He was not allowed to enter a plea on the treason charge, but pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of publishing false information.

Days later, the country's election commission disqualified CHADEMA from taking part in the elections, on the grounds it had failed to sign an election code of conduct on time.

The party, which called that move unconstitutional, had previously threatened to boycott the elections unless significant reforms were made to an electoral process which it says favours the ruling party.

The charges against Lissu, who was shot 16 times in one attack in 2017, have placed Hassan's human rights record under the spotlight as she seeks re-election.