Tensions escalate in Tanzania as police crack down on opposition rally

Tanzanian police arrested several top opposition leaders on Monday, thwarting a planned protest organized by the main opposition party, Chadema in Tanzania.

The rally, intended to spotlight alleged killings and abductions of government critics, was met with heavy resistance from authorities, raising fears of a return to political repression ahead of upcoming elections.

Among those detained were Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and deputy chairman Tundu Lissu, both arrested as they prepared to lead what the party insisted would be a peaceful protest. Video footage shared by Chadema on X (formerly Twitter) captured the moment police arrested Mbowe in the capital, Dar es Salaam, while separate footage showed officers surrounding Lissu’s home before taking him into custody.

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“They’ve informed me I’m directed to be taken to the Regional Crimes Officer. I’m getting ready to go,” Lissu wrote on X, just before his arrest. Lissu, who survived a 2016 assassination attempt after being shot 16 times, had earlier described a heavy police presence outside his residence, with officers in riot gear arriving in multiple vehicles.

The arrests come after Dar es Salaam’s police chief, Jumanne Muliro, warned over the weekend that the planned rally would “breach the peace,” and riot police with water cannons were deployed across the city. The police reported detaining 14 people, including Mbowe and Lissu, for defying a ban on the protests.

Chadema’s leadership has accused President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government of resorting to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli. While Hassan initially signaled a more open democratic environment when she assumed office in 2021, Chadema now claims that the security forces are responsible for the disappearance of several members and the brutal killing of senior party official Ali Mohamed Kibao last month.

In a speech posted on X before his arrest, Mbowe addressed the growing police presence, saying, “We are neither carrying any weapons nor planning to violate the peace as some people allege. We have seen the deployment of armed police officers in the city, but we are ready to face them.”

The crackdown on Chadema’s rally follows a similar attempt in August, when hundreds of protesters were arrested. Rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, have condemned the Tanzanian government’s actions, describing them as “antidemocratic” and calling for respect for the right to peaceful assembly.

As local elections approach, the incident has sparked concerns that political freedoms in Tanzania are once again under threat, despite earlier signs of progress.