Tanzanian police on Sunday arrested and detained the main opposition leader Tundu Lissu for holding what it said was an illegal assembly in Arusha city.
The Vice Chairman of Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, and the party’s presidential candidate in the 2020 general election, Tundu Lissu, is being detained by the police.
According to a statement released by the Arusha Regional Police Force, Lissu was arrested today in Karatu, Arusha, where he was expected to hold a public meeting at the Mazingira Bora grounds.
The police say that Lissu, a former Member of Parliament and lawyer, is accused of two offenses: holding gatherings without permits and obstructing the police from performing their duties.
“Hon. Tundu Lissu has been arrested. According to the Tanzania Police, Lissu has been arrested on the Unlawful Assembly as well as obstruction of Police officers discharging their duties, which are all trumped-up charges. Meanwhile, Mr. Lissu’s whereabouts aren’t known.” a message posted on Lissu’s status on X reads.
Yesterday, Chadema party leaders clashed with police operatives as the latter blocked passage to Ngorongoro where politicians planned major rallies in support of the Maasai communities opposing forcible eviction from their ancestral lands. The rallies were violently broken by police firing teargas.
Arusha Region Police Commander ACP Justine Masejo, when the interrogation and other procedures are complete, the law will take it’s course.