Tanzanian police blocked access to the homes of two opposition leaders in Dar es Salaam on Monday, ahead of protests planned by the CHADEMA party. Freeman Mbowe, CHADEMA’s chairman, and his deputy, Tundu Lissu, were targeted as authorities declared the protest, aimed at highlighting the alleged killings and abductions of opposition officials, illegal.
Despite improvements in Tanzania’s human rights record under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, abuses by the police targeting government critics persist, particularly as local and national elections approach in 2025. Rights groups say such incidents have increased, including the recent abduction and murder of a senior CHADEMA member, from a bus by armed men, with his body later found on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam with signs he had been beaten and acid poured on his face.
This crackdown follows a pattern of opposition suppression. In August, police briefly arrested Mbowe, Lissu, and hundreds of CHADEMA supporters to prevent their attendance at a banned party conference.
In a social media post, Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2016, said he had been ordered to report to the Regional Crimes Officer as police officers surrounded his home.
“They’ve informed me I’m directed to be taken to the Regional Crimes Officer,” he wrote on X. “I’m getting ready to go.”
“Since last night and until this morning, September 23, 2024, the police force has closed all the roads leading to the home of the chairman of the national party,” CHADEMA said on the social media platform X.
The police warned that Monday’s protest would disrupt public peace and vowed to take legal action to prevent it from occurring.
Melissa Enoch
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