Tanzania has released four senior Chadema officials on bail after their detention during nationwide protests over last month’s disputed presidential election. Prosecutors have charged at least 145 people with treason and more than 170 with other protest-related offences, while opposition groups allege security forces killed over 1,000 people — a figure the government disputes. African Union observers reported electoral irregularities, and opposition leader Tundu Lissu remains jailed after being barred from the October 29 ballot.
Tanzania Frees Senior Chadema Leaders on Bail After Deadly Post‑Election Protests
Tanzania has released four senior Chadema officials on bail after their detention during nationwide protests over last month’s disputed presidential election. Prosecutors have charged at least 145 people with treason and more than 170 with other protest-related offences, while opposition groups allege security forces killed over 1,000 people — a figure the government disputes. African Union observers reported electoral irregularities, and opposition leader Tundu Lissu remains jailed after being barred from the October 29 ballot.
04:48 PM, 11/11/2025Politics
Tanzania frees senior opposition figures on bail amid unrest
Police in Tanzania have released several senior leaders of the main opposition party, Chadema, on bail after they were detained in connection with the violent protests that followed last month’s disputed presidential election, the party said.
Chadema said four senior officials — vice-chairman John Heche, deputy secretary-general Amani Golugwa, central committee member Godbless Lema and coastal branch chair Boniface Jacob — were granted bail and released on Monday. Heche was arrested on October 22 and questioned on suspicion of terrorism, his lawyer said. Golugwa was detained over the preceding weekend.
Separately, prosecutors have charged at least 145 people with treason over alleged roles in nationwide demonstrations, while more than 170 others face various protest-related charges. Chadema leader Tundu Lissu, who was charged with treason in April after being excluded from the October 29 presidential ballot, remains in custody; his exclusion was a major catalyst for the unrest.
Opposition groups and human rights organisations say security forces killed more than 1,000 people during the protests, a figure the government describes as exaggerated and has not publicly countered with its own death toll.
Such acts … are a disgrace before God, Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi said during a service in Dar es Salaam, as the Catholic Church publicly condemned the killings.
African Union observers concluded the election fell short of democratic standards, documenting incidents of ballot stuffing and other irregularities. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has defended the election’s integrity and rejected accusations of systemic human rights abuses. Last year she ordered an inquiry into reported abductions of critics, but authorities have not released the probe’s findings.
Analysts say the events represent one of Tanzania’s most serious political crises in decades, raising questions about the future of multiparty politics, accountability and human rights in the country.