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Jan
16
2023
By The African Mirror
Tanzania opposition leader says he will end exile after rally ban was lifted

Tanzania opposition leader says he will end exile after rally ban was lifted

NEWS
TANZANIAN opposition leader and former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu said he will return home this month from exile in Europe after the government lifted a ban on political rallies. President Samia Suluhu Hassan lifted the six-and-a-half-year ban on political rallies last week, part of her reconciliation strategy after taking over the presidency in March 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. "With the lifting of the illegal ban on political activity, it's now time to return home and get back to work," Lissu wrote late on Friday on Twitter, saying he would arrive on January 25. The ban, imposed by…
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Jul
28
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzanian opposition leader who survived 2017 gun attack returns from exile

Tanzanian opposition leader who survived 2017 gun attack returns from exile

NEWS
TANZANIA's opposition leader and potential presidential candidate Tundu Lissu arrived home on Monday from Belgium where he took exile and underwent treatment after being shot three years ago. Lissu, 52, was met at an airport in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam by relatives, political allies and thousands of supporters from his party CHADEMA. A fierce critic of President John Magufuli's government, he was shot 16 times, mostly in the lower abdomen, in an attack by unknown gunmen in the administrative capital Dodoma in September 2017. At the time, Magufuli condemned the shooting and ordered security forces to investigate, but…
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Aug
05
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzanian who survived 16 bullets runs for president

Tanzanian who survived 16 bullets runs for president

NEWS
A politician who survived being shot 16 times in an apparent assassination attempt will challenge Tanzania's president in October elections, his party said as rights groups voiced concern about increasing repression ahead of the polls. Tundu Lissu, who clinched the nomination for the leading opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) party, is a fierce critic of President John Magufuli. Lissu survived the attempt on his life in 2017 and left to seek medical treatment abroad, returning from exile last week. His attackers have never been found. Magufuli condemned the attack. Lissu's endorsement by all delegates present after prevailing over…
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Aug
27
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzanian president Magufuli to face 14 challengers in Oct elections

Tanzanian president Magufuli to face 14 challengers in Oct elections

NEWS
TANZANIAN president John Magufuli will face 14 challengers in elections scheduled for this October, the elections board announced on Wedne, with analysts saying a divided opposition was likely to ensure he won a second term. His main challengers are likely to be Tundu Lissu, who returned to Tanzania last month after spending nearly three years in Belgium for treatment after he was shot during an assassination attempt, and ex-foreign minister Bernard Membe, who was expelled from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi party in February. The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 28. Opposition parties are heading to the…
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Oct
04
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzania suspends opposition leader’s election campaign

Tanzania suspends opposition leader’s election campaign

NEWS
TANZANIAN authorities on Friday suspended the election campaign of leading opposition candidate Tundu Lissu for seven days over accusations of inciting violence in the run-up to a national vote set for October 28. The National Electoral Commission said the decision was taken by its ethics committee after it received two complaints from the ruling party and another party about the language Lissu had used on the campaign trail. It was the latest attempt to derail the campaign of Lissu, a fierce critic of President John Magufuli’s administration. Magufuli faces 14 challengers with analysts saying a divided opposition is likely to…
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Nov
02
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzania police arrest main opposition party leader ahead of protests

Tanzania police arrest main opposition party leader ahead of protests

NEWS
TANZANIAN police have arrested Freeman Mbowe, the leader of the main opposition party Chadema, according to Tundu Lissu, the party's candidate in last week's presidential election. The opposition has demanded a repeat election, citing widespread irregularities, and called for protests against the outcome, which returned President John Magufuli to office with 84% of the vote. Those arrested with Mbowe include a former member of parliament Godbless Lema, the former mayor of Dar es Salaam, Isaya Mwita, and the former mayor of Ubungo municipality, Boniface Jacob. "I got a message around midnight that they had been taken in," Lissu told Reuters…
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Oct
08
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzania opposition leader says facing repression as elections near

Tanzania opposition leader says facing repression as elections near

NEWS
THREE weeks before elections, the Tanzanian government is getting scared and will do all in its power to stop the opposition, according to Tundu Lissu, a presidential hopeful whose convoy was teargassed by police last week. "It is getting harder. It is getting hotter. We expected this," Lissu, from the main opposition Chadema party, told Reuters on Wednesday. Chadema says its party offices in Arusha in northern Tanzania were firebombed. Meanwhile, dozens of opposition parliamentary candidates were disqualified from running in the elections for president and members of parliament on October 28. "The regime is getting scared and therefore they…
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Oct
30
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzania’s opposition candidate calls election a “travesty”

Tanzania’s opposition candidate calls election a “travesty”

NEWS
TANZANIA’S leading opposition presidential candidate urged countries around the world on Thursday not to recognise the eventual results of an election held the previous day, calling it a "travesty" due to widespread irregularities. Tundu Lissu, the main challenger to incumbent President John Magufuli, told Reuters the defects in the process meant that the results - expected within a week - could not be trusted. Magufuli is seeking a second, five-year term in presidential and parliamentary polls marked by complaints of restricted internet access and accusations of fraud. Tundu Lissu addressing the parliament of Tanzania in Dodoma. Photo Likumbage "The results…
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Oct
28
2020
By The African Mirror
Tanzania president Magufuli seeks second term as polls open

Tanzania president Magufuli seeks second term as polls open

NEWS
TANZANIANS headed to the polls today for presidential and parliamentary elections that President John Magufuli hopes will hand him another five-year term despite criticism from rights groups that the government has stifled political dissent. Magufuli's main challengers include Tundu Lissu, who was shot 16 times in 2017, and former foreign minister Bernard Membe. The attack on Lissu, who returned from three years in exile in July, has never been solved. People turned out early to cast their ballots in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday morning. "The voting process is good, calm," local pastor Clement Fumbo told Reuters after voting. "I…
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Oct
28
2020
By The African Mirror
At the edge of democracy: what the upcoming general election holds in store for Tanzania

At the edge of democracy: what the upcoming general election holds in store for Tanzania

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
NICODEMUS MINDE, PhD Fellow, United States International University BEFORE the heroic return of opposition figure, Tundu Lissu, in late July 2020, Tanzania’s political landscape lacked the exuberance and ebullience that comes with an election season. Lissu’s return reignited the hopes of a despondent opposition that had been subdued by the oppressive and restrictive political environment during President John Magufuli’s five-year term. Lissu has been active in politics for the last two decades. He was elected to parliament on a Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party for Democracy and Progress) ticket in 2010. A firebrand lawyer and politician, he is known…
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