In brief
In Dar Es Salaam, Tundu Lissu was found guilty of inciting people to disrupt the 2025 election and sentenced to four years. The High Court dropped an earlier treason charge and imposed a lesser offense. Heavy police security surrounded the court during the announcement.
Tundu Lissu, the national chairman of Tanzania’s opposition party CHADEMA, was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for incitement, according to the High Court in Dar Es Salaam.
The verdict ended a 576‑day treason case; the court found Lissu had not intended to intimidate the government, and instead convicted him of the lesser charge under Section 390 of the Penal Code.
Police raised a heavy security presence around the Posta and Kisutu areas of the city, patrolling major roads and positioning armed officers on routes leading to the court. Security was also reinforced at key junctions, including Ubungo, Mwenge and Buguruni, and at Bus Rapid Transit stations, though people and CHADEMA supporters gathered around the courthouse and traffic remained orderly.
Judge Dunstan Ndunguru explained that Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act allows a court to convict an accused of a lesser offense even if it was not separately charged. He said the court had weighed evidence from 17 prosecution witnesses and from Lissu’s own testimony before ruling the statements had “influenced” some people to disrupt the 2025 general election.
"The court is satisfied that, under Section 319 of the CPA, the accused committed the lesser offense of incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code,"
Lissu was arrested on April 9, 2025, in the Mbinga District of Ruvuma Region and has remained in custody since the arrest, as treason is non‑bailable. He acknowledged making the statements but argued they were legitimate political discourse, not treason.
The BBC later corrected an initial report that Lissu had been convicted of treason, noting the actual charge was incitement. This correction reflects the court’s decision to apply a lesser penalty.
For the opposition, the ruling signals heightened scrutiny of political speech in the run‑up to the 2025 election. The loss of a prominent leader may weaken the party’s campaign, while supporters see the decision as a crackdown on dissent.
