Tanzanian opposition leader facing treason charges, Tundu Lissu, threatens to go on hunger strike

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu plans to go on a hunger strike on Monday to demand prison authorities allow him to privately meet his lawyers, his party said.

Lissu has been jailed while waiting for the outcome of a trial for treason, a charge that carries a potential death sentence.

Having survived an assassination attempt in 2017, Lissu was arrested in April 2025 on accusations he incited the public to boycott that year's elections.

The 58-year-old Chadema party leader, who returned to Tanzania in 2023 following years of exile, has been in detention since.

Hunger strike

The verdict in the treason trial is expected on November 6.

According to Chadema, the High Court of Tanzania ruled last week that his constitutional right to private meetings with his defence counsel had been infringed.

But the party accused authorities on Saturday of failing to respect that ruling.

"Starting Monday, October 26, 2026, Lissu is commencing a hunger strike," Chadema's legal adviser, Rugemeleza Nshala, said at a news conference.

Lissu denies treason charge

Lissu had called for a boycott of Tanzania's November 2025 elections if electoral reforms were not implemented, a statement that the Chadema leader says does not amount to treason.

Chadema was barred from competing in the election, in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan went on to win 98% of the vote.