How Tundu Lissu’s court appearance rekindles debate over political freedoms in Tanzania

Tanzania's firebrand opposition figure, Tundu Lissu, made a highly symbolic return to court on Monday, facing charges of treason and disseminating false information.

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's general elections later this year.

Escorted under heavy prison security, with guards donning face masks in a show of force, Lissu appeared unfazed. Raising his fist in a familiar gesture of resistance, he turned to supporters and said calmly, "You'll be fine. Don't be afraid."

Inside the Kisutu Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, the atmosphere was emotionally charged.

Lissu, carrying a bag full of legal documents and an air of practised composure, personally thanked members of his team and supporters, calling them out by name.

"Chairman, I've seen you. Thank you so much," he said in Swahili. Turning to another, he added with a smile: "General, thank you for coming."

The moment took an emotional turn when the CHADEMA party chairman from Serengeti broke down in tears.

Lissu, ever the political showman, responded in Swahili lightly: "Chairman, you're crying? This isn't the time to cry."

In a telling contrast, Kenya's former Chief Justice David Maraga was allowed into the courtroom and greeted Lissu—a moment that Lissu seized to acknowledge wider regional support. "Thank you, Kenya," he said.

But the diplomatic undertone ran deeper. Maraga's predecessor, Willy Mutunga, had been denied entry into Tanzania and deported at the airport on Monday.

Lissu didn't miss the chance to deliver a biting jab: "You deported Chief Justice Willy. If you can turn back a Chief Justice at the airport just so he doesn't witness a trial, then you're finished."

Conspicuously absent was CHADEMA's former leader Freeman Mbowe, who was criticised by party loyalists for failing to show solidarity with the man who soundly defeated him in the party's internal elections.

Solidarity, it seems, doesn't always survive a political bruising. Insiders say Mbowe has distanced himself from party affairs and may be on his way out.

Lissu remains one of Tanzania's most resilient political actors. He survived a 2017 assassination attempt in Dodoma, where more than a dozen bullets were pumped into his body while he was performing his parliamentary duties.

After years of treatment and self-exile in Belgium, he returned in 2023, shortly after President Samia Suluhu Hassan lifted a long-standing ban on political rallies.

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The thaw had started earlier. In 2022, Samia met Lissu in Brussels, signalling what many hoped would be a more conciliatory political climate.

That optimism now hangs in the balance, as Lissu's prosecution risks reviving old patterns of authoritarianism just as Tanzania's democratic credentials face growing scrutiny, both at home and abroad.