In brief
Tundu Lissu, the national chairman of the opposition CHADEMA, was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday at the Dar es Salaam High Court. The 576‑day treason case was dismissed and re‑charged under the lesser offence of incitement after the court found insufficient evidence of treason. Heavy police security surrounded the court and key areas of Dar es Salaam during the announcement. Lissu later stated he was only charged with treason, a claim reported by BBC, while ABC News noted he was acquitted of the more serious charge.
On Friday, November 6, 2026, Tanzania’s High Court in Dar es Salaam sentenced opposition national chairman Tundu Lissu to four years in prison, convicting him of incitement after a 576‑day treason trial had finished without a treason verdict.
The Court concluded that Lissu’s statements urging the public to disrupt the 2025 general election amounted to the lesser offence of incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code, a charge that had been presented as an alternative to treason under Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Police deployed a heightened security presence around the Posta and Kisutu districts of Dar es Salaam and guarded key junctions, including Ubungo, Mwenge and Buguruni, as well as Bus Rapid Transit stations, as the sentence was announced.
Judge Dunstan Ndunguru said the court had considered evidence from both the prosecution and defence before concluding that Lissu had “urged the public to prevent and disrupt the 2025 general election” and that this constituted incitement.
"The court is satisfied that, under Section 319 of the CPA, the accused committed the lesser offence of incitement under Section 390 of the Penal Code," Ndunguru said.
BBC reports that Lissu said he had only been charged with treason and not incitement, stating:
The offence of incitement is one that you, honourable judges, have manufactured. You have …
ABC News noted that Lissu was convicted of incitement but acquitted of the more serious charge of treason.
Lissu was arrested on April 9, 2025, in Mbinga District of the Ruvuma Region and has remained in custody throughout the proceedings, as treason is a non‑bailable offence under Tanzanian law.
The prosecution called 17 witnesses, while Lissu testified in his defence, admitting he had made the statements but rejecting the prosecution’s interpretation of them as treasonous, arguing they constituted legitimate political discourse.
