Tanzania court acquits Lissu of treason, jails him four years

Tanzania's High Court acquitted opposition leader Tundu Lissu of treason on Friday and sentenced him to four years in prison, The EastAfrican reported, in a case that had carried a possible death sentence.

Lissu, 58, leads Chadema, the country's main opposition party. He had been held for 19 months before the ruling; The Rio Times reported he was jailed in April 2025. He was arrested ahead of the October 2025 presidential election and accused of inciting a boycott of the vote. He denied the charge and represented himself at trial.

The Winnipeg Sun reported that Lissu avoided the death penalty. The reports available did not specify what charge the four-year prison term was imposed for.

Security was raised in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital, in the days before the verdict, an AFP journalist reported via Africanews. Chadema had asked supporters to attend the court session in large numbers. On Wednesday police warned against "those who want to stage a coup", saying groups were organising to travel to the city.

Britain and the European Union criticised the prosecution before the ruling. Lawmakers described the case as politically motivated and called for his release, writing to President Samia Suluhu Hassan: "The use of capital punishment against a political opponent risks turning the justice system into an instrument of political repression." The US ambassador to Tanzania, William Trachman, wrote on X that he was "closely following the outcome of Tundu Lissu's trial proceedings, and the broader implications for the rule of law".

Anna Bwana, director of the civil society group Twaweza East Africa, told AFP before the verdict: "The mood seems to be that it's a given that he will be found guilty, the question is more about what the punishment will be."

In his final submissions Lissu asked the three-judge panel for 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," he said.

It was the third high-profile treason trial in mainland Tanzania's history. The first two, in the 1970s and 1980s, involved defendants accused of plotting to overthrow and assassinate founding president Julius Nyerere.

In 2017 Lissu survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot 16 times, an attack he says was politically motivated. He needed nearly 20 operations after it.

The October 2025 election was followed by protests. Rights groups and the opposition said security forces killed thousands of people; the government put the death toll at 518.