Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu ends brief hunger strike
Summary
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu ended a brief hunger strike after prison authorities allowed him to meet privately with his lawyers, according to his lawyer. Lissu is jailed on treason charges that he denies, while his detention and reports of abductions of government critics have drawn scrutiny of Tanzania’s human rights record.Key Facts
- Lissu leads the opposition Party for Democracy and Progress, known as CHADEMA.
- His lawyer said Lissu began refusing food after lawyers were unable to meet him in prison and ended the strike after a private meeting.
- Accounts differed on whether the hunger strike began Monday or Tuesday.
- Tanzania’s prisons service denied reports that Lissu was on hunger strike and said he was safe.
- Authorities arrested Lissu in April 2025 after he addressed a rally calling for electoral reforms and charged him with treason.
- Lissu has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say the charges are politically motivated; a judgment is due November 6.
- A government-appointed inquiry found at least 518 people were killed in violence after the 2025 election; CHADEMA estimates about 2,000 deaths, a figure the United Nations said it could not verify.
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