DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Tanzania’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, has been acquitted of treason but convicted of the lesser offence of incitement in a high-profile case that has drawn international scrutiny over political freedoms and the treatment of opposition figures in the country.
A three-judge panel of the High Court in Dar es Salaam delivered the split verdict on Friday, November 6, 2026, finding that prosecutors had failed to prove a key element of the treason charge but established the offence of incitement.
The ruling brings a major development in the case against Lissu, the national chairman of the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), who has been in detention since his arrest in April 2025.
The 58-year-old politician was prosecuted over remarks he made during a campaign for electoral reforms ahead of Tanzania’s October 2025 general election.
The court found that his public statements had incited people to take actions intended to disrupt the electoral process. It ruled that the evidence supported a conviction for incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code, rather than treason.
Why the court cleared Lissu of treason
Lissu had faced a treason charge under Section 39(2)(d) of Tanzania’s Penal Code, which concerns conduct intended to threaten or intimidate the government.
The prosecution argued that remarks he made on April 3, 2025, at Chadema’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam were intended to mobilise the public to prevent the general election from taking place.
Among the statements cited by prosecutors were his calls to block the election, mobilise rebellion and disrupt the polls as part of the opposition’s campaign for political and electoral reforms.
However, the three judges, led by Justice Dunstan Ndunguru, ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish an essential element of the treason offence relating to the intention to threaten the government.
The court nevertheless concluded that the remarks amounted to incitement, finding that they were made publicly and intended to reach a wider audience.
Lissu, a lawyer who represented himself during parts of the proceedings, denied wrongdoing throughout the trial. He argued that his statements had been taken out of context and formed part of a legitimate political campaign seeking changes to Tanzania’s electoral system.
He also maintained that the prosecution had failed to establish the criminal elements required to secure a conviction.
What sentence does Lissu face?
The incitement conviction carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, according to State Attorney Nassor Katuga.
The penalty is significantly different from the potential death sentence associated with the original treason charge.
At the time of the latest reports, the court had not announced the sentence for the incitement conviction as it continued delivering its judgment.
The ruling also leaves Lissu with the option of challenging the conviction through Tanzania’s Court of Appeal, the country’s highest court.
Electoral reforms at the centre of Lissu’s prosecution
Lissu’s arrest followed Chadema’s campaign under the slogan “No Reforms, No Election”, which called for changes to Tanzania’s electoral system before the 2025 general election.
The opposition party argued that the existing framework gave the executive excessive influence over the electoral process and undermined the independence of election administration.
Among its demands were an independently appointed electoral commission, an end to alleged police intimidation of opposition parties during campaigns and the removal of government-appointed district commissioners from roles as election returning officers.
Chadema also called for political parties to have unrestricted access to polling and vote-counting processes, as well as the right to challenge presidential election results in court.
Prosecutors, however, argued that Lissu’s statements went beyond calls for reform and amounted to incitement intended to disrupt the election and threaten the government.
Lissu rejected that interpretation, maintaining that his campaign was aimed at securing constitutional and electoral changes through political pressure.
His arrest in April 2025 came months before the election and kept him in detention throughout the campaign period.
Chadema was subsequently disqualified from participating in the October 29, 2025 general election after it refused to sign the electoral code of ethics, citing concerns about the integrity of the process.
Tanzania’s disputed 2025 election and deadly unrest
The prosecution and conviction of Lissu come against the backdrop of a deeply contested 2025 election that was followed by widespread protests and a violent security response.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with approximately 98 per cent of the vote, a result rejected by opposition figures who questioned the credibility of the electoral process.
The unrest that followed the October 29 election resulted in hundreds of deaths.
A presidential commission of inquiry reported in April 2026 that at least 518 people had been killed during the violence, with most deaths attributed to gunshot injuries.
However, Human Rights Watch has criticised the handling of accountability for the killings, saying the inquiry failed to meaningfully scrutinise the role of security forces. The government has rejected allegations by human rights organisations that security agencies used excessive force.
The election and its aftermath intensified concerns among rights organisations about restrictions on political opposition, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Tanzania.
Amnesty International said repression of dissent intensified during the election period, with opposition members, activists and other government critics facing arbitrary arrests, detention and other abuses.
The government has repeatedly denied targeting political opponents and defended its handling of the election-related unrest.
Who is Tundu Lissu?
Lissu is one of Tanzania’s most prominent opposition politicians and a long-standing critic of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has dominated the country’s politics since independence.
A lawyer by profession, he first entered Parliament in 2010, representing a constituency in Singida Region.
In September 2017, he survived an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle outside his home in Dodoma. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and underwent extensive medical treatment abroad.
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The attackers were never brought to justice, and the incident forced him to spend several years outside Tanzania.
Lissu returned to contest the 2020 presidential election against then-President John Magufuli, who was declared the winner in a poll that the opposition alleged was marred by irregularities.
He later went into exile again before returning in 2023, following President Samia’s decision to lift a ban on opposition political rallies.
His return was initially viewed as an opportunity for renewed political competition after years of restrictions under Magufuli, who died in office in 2021.
However, relations between the government and opposition deteriorated as the country approached the 2025 elections, with Lissu becoming Chadema’s national chairman in January that year and intensifying his demands for electoral reforms.
His conviction for incitement, despite the acquittal on treason, is likely to keep the debate over political freedoms, electoral accountability and the treatment of opposition leaders in Tanzania firmly in the spotlight.
