Reuters
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Tanzania’s leading opposition leader, Tandu Lis, has shown up in court on Monday since his arrest on charges that include treason, so he told him not to fear his supporters.
Lissu refused to attend the hearing on April 24, as authorities conducted a virtual event rather than a face-to-face trial as they appeared via video links from the prison.
According to a court video shared by X’s Chadema party, he raised his fist into the air and entered the court on Monday.
“We’re well, don’t be afraid,” said Lis instead on the dock, waving signs of victory.
Sris, who was shot 16 times in the 2017 attack and ranked second in the last presidential poll, was charged last month with treason for saying that prosecutors were speaking in October calling for treason and the election to be confused.
A series of famous arrests highlighted the rights records of President Samia Sloof Hassan, who plans to seek reelection. Hassan says the government is committed to respecting human rights.
Lissu’s Chadema Party has called for changes to the election process to support the ruling party before joining the vote.
Several Kenyan rights activists, including a former Justice Minister, said they were denied entry to Tanzania when they traveled to attend trial.
Martha Karua, a well-known lawyer, opposition politician and Prime Minister Willie Mutunga, Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua was among those detained when he landed at Tanzania’s Julius Nyere International Airport.
Tanzanian immigration spokesman Paul Masel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Today is going to be a big day and we went out there in solidarity,” Karua told Kenya’s broadcaster NTV on Monday after she was denied entry and sent back to Nairobi.
“The state cannot be used as a personal tool. You cannot deport people you don’t like or who don’t align with your opinion.”
Mutunga and rights activist Hussein Khalid were expected to be deported on Monday at the interrogation room at Julius Nyererre airport, Khalid said in X.
