Written by
Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Tanzania. Tanzanian politician and opposition leader Tundu Lissu hit out at the new Tanzanian administration led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, following the arrest of the main opposition leader for Chadema Party Freeman Mbowe.
While he was reacting to the arrest, Lissu said that Hassan’s administration was slowly confirming the era of the President John Magufuli who died suddenly on 17 March 2021 due to heart conditions.
Through his Twitter account, Lissu said that there was hope when President Hassan took over the leadership, but the start of arrests has dashed any such hope, Star reported.
“When president Samia Suluhu Hassan took over, there’s hope that Magufuli’s reign of terror and war on democracy would end, Kast night’s arrest of Chairman Mbowe and CHADEMA leaders has dashed any such hope,” Lissu said.
Birth of Lissu’s rage
On Wednesday Mbowe and other members of Chadema, were rounded up in the northwestern port city of Mwanza, before he was scheduled to speak at a conference to announce demands for constitutional reforms.
Shortly after the arrest, the party said that more than 10 other leaders were arrested alongside Mbowe and they were taken to the Central Police Station Mwanza, but Mbowe’s whereabouts were unknown.
But yesterday police spokesman David Misime said they are holding Mbowe in their custody for plotting terrorism acts including to kill government leaders.
Tanzanian politician Sophia Kirema in an interview with Africa Press said that if President Hassan’s administration continues cracking down on Opposition members, definitely there will be no difference from that of Magufuli’s.
Isolate Hassan’s regime
Tundu Lissu said it is high time for the nationwide protests and international isolation of President Hassan’s administration. “I urge Tanzania’s development partners to stop subsidising the Chama Cha Mapinduzi dictatorship and to support democracy,” He said
Assassination attempt and exile
Laissu, 53 year old, is a long serving politician and also a Chief legal officer for Tanzanian opposition paty Chadema. His outspoken government critic, especially with his repeated confrontations with the government in President magufuli’s tenure in the country.
In 2017, Lissu was shot 16 times and seriously injured by unknown assailants at his residence in Dodoma, in fear of his safety, he was airlifted to AgaKhan hospital in Nairobi where he was hospitalised for a month before being flown to Belgium to undergo further treatment and rehabilitation.
In 2020 Lissu returned to Tanzania after three years in exile to be able to contest in general elections as Chadema flag-bearer and challenged the incumbent President Magufuli who won the race. Lissu was the one who sparked the speculations of Magufuli’s absence and his illness to Covid-19.
After Magufuli’s death and Samia was sworn in as the new Tanzanian president, Lissu asked her to reveal to him and the world the people who were behind his assassination attempt, and those who ordered them.
