Tanzania opposition leader Tundu Lissu to be remanded for 14 more days

The embattled Tanzanian main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, will remain in remand for 14 more days pending further investigations.

The Police and the state prosecutors requested the Kisutu Magistrates Court to allow them more time to conclude their investigations.

The court granted them two more weeks until June 2, when the case will be heard again. It was the first time Lissu appeared in person for the mention as he previously attended sessions virtually.

The defence team, led by the Senior Counsel Mpale Mpoki, objected to the application, citing infringement of Lissu's fundamental rights. They made several other applications with one questioning why the prosecuting teams were not able to move on with the case despite all evidence being available and accessible to everyone.

Lissu's team also claimed that their client was being placed under unnecessary heavy police supervision and that he was just an accused and not a threat to anyone in court.

Opposition leader Tundu Lissu was arrested on April 9 after calling for electoral reforms before a general election in October and was charged with treason, a charge for which bail isn't available.

Lissu’s party, Chadema, has been outspoken about electoral reforms, arrests and detentions of opposition politicians before the vote in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan is seeking election after serving out her predecessor’s term in office.

Human rights activists have accused the government of Hassan of heavy-handed tactics against the opposition. The government denies the claims.

In 2017, three years before the last election, Lissu survived an assassination attempt after being shot 16 times. His party has been critical of laws that favor the ruling CCM party, which has been in power since Tanzania’s independence in 1961.