Tundu Lissu Stories

Kenya-Tanzania rift over activist’s deportation sparks regional reckoning on free expression
Mwangi Maina  |  May 28, 2025

Kenyans, particularly on social media, reacted not with silence but with satire: memes, parodies, and comedic impersonations of Tanzanian President Sa...

I was stripped, beaten- Uganda activist Agather Atuhaire recounts ordeal in Tanzania as Amnesty demands probe
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 24, 2025

They were held incommunicado for days at an undisclosed location and reportedly subjected to severe beatings, torture, and humiliation by individuals...

Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire finally freed after arrest in Tanzania
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 23, 2025

Both Atuhaire and Mwangi were held without contact with their lawyers or families, raising alarm over their safety and whereabouts.

Uganda mounts diplomatic pressure over detention of activist Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 22, 2025

The Ugandan government has written to Tanzanian authorities requesting access to Atuhaire, who is believed to be in custody at the Central Police Stat...

Police reforms group demands immediate release of Mwangi and Atuhaire held in Tanzania
Rachael Mutabasi  |  May 21, 2025

PRWG-K demanded their immediate release and called for an independent investigation into their arrest, citing grave concerns over the violations of th...

Tears and protests as Boniface Mwangi’s wife demands his release from Tanzania's custody
Rachael Mutabasi  |  May 21, 2025

Mwangi was arrested on Monday at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam, where he had travelled to attend the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition leader...

Speculation mounts on activist Boniface Mwangi's detention in Tanzania amid asylum exchange fears
Barack Oduor  |  May 21, 2025

Mwangi was arrested on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Dar es Salaam, alongside Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire after they flew to Tanzania to attend a cou...

Why Tanzania blocked Martha Karua from representing opposition leader Tundu Lissu
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 21, 2025

Tanzania’s Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice, Damas Ndumbaro said Karua, two others were deported to protect the integrity of the legal...

Family says Boniface Mwangi has not returned to Kenya despite deportation claims
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 20, 2025

A close relative told the Eastleigh Voice that the family has not had any contact from Mwangi, who was arrested on Monday at the Serena Hotel in the T...

Activists threaten to storm Tanzania embassy in Nairobi over Boniface Mwangi's detention
Barack Oduor  |  May 20, 2025

The human rights advocates, including Hussein Khalid of Vocal Africa, Njeri Mwangi — Boniface Mwangi’s wife — and protest musician Julius Owino, conde...

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu given 24-hour ultimatum to release Boniface Mwangi
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 20, 2025

Addressing a press conference in Nairobi on Tuesday, the Kongamano la Mapinduzi sharply criticised the Tanzanian government, accusing it of suppressin...

Boniface Mwangi’s wife says Tanzanian authorities yet to decide her husband’s fate
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 20, 2025

Mwangi had earlier warned that his life was in danger after armed men, claiming to be police officers, showed up at his hotel room in Dar es Salaam on...

Tanzania deports Kenyan activists as President Samia warns against foreign interference
Mwangi Maina  |  May 19, 2025

"They've already caused enough chaos in their own countries. Don't give room to ill-mannered individuals from elsewhere to bring disorder here," she s...

How Tundu Lissu’s court appearance rekindles debate over political freedoms in Tanzania
Mwangi Maina  |  May 19, 2025

It was his first appearance since his arrest last month—an episode that has reignited tensions around political freedoms and state repression ahead of...

Tanzania opposition leader Tundu Lissu to remain in police custody until June
Bashir Mbuthia  |  May 19, 2025

Dressed in a white T-shirt bearing the message "No Reforms No Election" in sky-blue letters, he addressed supporters outside the court on Monday, sayi...

Mwaura: Deportation of Karua, Mutunga won’t harm Kenya-Tanzania relations
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 19, 2025

Mwaura emphasised that each country within the regional bloc manages its internal affairs independently. He noted that the deportations, including tha...

Former Chief Justice David Maraga appears at Tundu Lissu’s treason trial in Dar es Salaam
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 19, 2025

Lissu is facing treason charges stemming from an alleged speech in which he is accused of calling on Tanzanians to rebel and interfere with the upcomi...

Kenya demands ex-CJ Mutunga’s immediate release as Tanzania detains delegation ahead of Lissu trial
Mwangi Maina  |  May 19, 2025

Nairobi's latest appeal signals a growing unease within the region over Dar es Salaam's handling of political dissent and its response to regional scr...

Ex‑CJ Mutunga, Hussein Khalid and Hanifa detained at Tanzanian airport ahead of Lissu trial
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 19, 2025

The three had travelled to Tanzania in solidarity with opposition CHADEMA party leader Tundu Lissu, ahead of his trial.

Karua, two rights activists detained, denied entry to Tanzania ahead of Tundu Lissu trial
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 18, 2025

Karua said she had been held at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam since morning, with Tanzanian immigration officials withhold...

Tanzania arrests opposition official ahead of Brussels forum, raising crackdown fears
Reuters  |  May 13, 2025

Golugwa had been due to represent his party in Brussels at a forum organised by the International Democracy Union, a grouping of centre-right parties...

EU Parliament demands release of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu
Bashir Mbuthia  |  May 08, 2025

The EU Parliament similarly asked member states to engage Tanzanian officials and keep an eye on Lissu's trial.

Tanzania police detain Chadema officials on way to court for Tundu Lissu treason hearing
Reuters  |  Apr 24, 2025

Chadema party Deputy Chairperson John Heche and Secretary-General John Mnyika were detained as they headed to Kisutu Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam...

Tanzania opposition leader Tundu Lissu moved to Ukonga Prison amid treason case
Amina Wako  |  Apr 19, 2025

Lissu, who was the runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, was charged with treason last week after allegedly urging the public to rebel and disr...

Tanzanian opposition party says whereabouts of its leaders unknown
Reuters  |  Apr 18, 2025

Lissu, runner-up in the country's 2020 presidential election, was charged with treason last week over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on th...

East Africa’s democratic backslide: Wave of arrests, repression raises alarm across region
Barack Oduor  |  Apr 17, 2025

In Yoweri Museveni’s Uganda, the High Court in Kampala has denied bail to veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide Hajj Obeid Lutal...

Tanzania: Democracy at stake as Chadema barred from election over disputed code of conduct
DW News  |  Apr 16, 2025

The opposition party has long complained that the composition of the electoral commission and systems favours the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) par...

Tanzania's main opposition party calls election ban unconstitutional
Reuters  |  Apr 15, 2025

CHADEMA failed to sign an election code of conduct document, making it ineligible to contest the presidential and parliamentary polls expected in Octo...

Who is Tundu Lissu, Tanzania opposition leader accused of treason?
Reuters  |  Apr 11, 2025

That uncompromising approach has seen Lissu, a former presidential candidate, detained numerous times and face charges such as sedition. Analysts say...

Tanzania court charges main opposition party leader with treason
Reuters  |  Apr 10, 2025

The charge will bring fresh scrutiny to President Samia Suluhu Hassan's human rights record as she bids for re-election.

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