Tanzania’s primary opposition party, Chadema, announced that 51 of its officials have been arrested and charged with terrorism-related offenses. According to the party’s deputy chairperson John Heche, the arrests relate to planned protests scheduled for this month that did not occur due to heightened police activity in the country.
The intended demonstrations were connected to July 7, a date marking the anniversary of the ruling party’s formation and previously associated with pro-democracy movements in neighboring Kenya. Protest organizers had sought to mobilize citizens for democratic reforms following the disputed October general election, in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan was reported to have secured 98% of the vote. Heche stated that Chadema’s chairman Tundu Lissu has also been charged with terrorism offenses and has been denied access to bail eligibility.
Terrorism charges under Tanzanian law carry substantial consequences, with convictions resulting in sentences ranging from a decade to life imprisonment. Notably, a university lecturer’s charges were escalated from incitement to terrorism charges ahead of a scheduled bail hearing on earlier charges earlier in the week.
The opposition party committed to legal defense for all arrested officials and appealed to supporters to provide assistance to the detainees’ families. Heche called for Tanzanian citizens to unite against what he characterized as “blackmail and intimidation.” The Tanzanian government has not issued statements regarding the recent terrorism charges, though it has previously rejected claims of political suppression.
In June, the government implemented a prohibition on all political rallies, citing unspecified security considerations without clarifying the duration of the restriction. Following the October election, significant unrest occurred on election day, with substantially differing accounts of casualties—the government reported 500 deaths while opposition figures indicated thousands.
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