Written by
Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Tanzania. This week on 4 August 2021, the United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Victoria Nuland met with Tanzania’s main opposition party leaders in Dar es Salaam.
The opposition leaders who attended the meeting include Chadema’s secretary general John Minyika, leader of ACT-Wazalendo Zitto Kabwe. Others wew Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba the chairman of Prof Civic United Front (CUF), James Mbaita who is the chairman of National Convention for Construction and Reform NCCR-Mageuzi and also the US ambassador to Tanzania John Wright attended.
Ambassador Nuland before meeting Tanzania’s opposition party leaders, held talks with the President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan in the State House in Dar es Salaam where the two talked about strengthening Tanzania and US relations across multiple areas of interest.
What was in the meetings
The senior U.S government official expressed concern over the arrest and imprisonment of Tanzania’s main opposition leader Freeman Mbowe who was charged with terrorism-related crimes in late July, Reuters reported. “We have expressed our concern about the treatment and imprisonment of the opposition leader Mbowe,” Nuland told reporters.
Mbowe, chairman of the leading opposition party Chadema and others, were detained in the city of Mwanza on 21 July 2021 as he was preparing for a meeting to discuss proposals for constitutional reforms.
Chadema’s report to Nuland
Chadema leaders said that the imprisonment of its leader was proof that President Hassan was persisting with the authoritarianism of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli who died due to heart condition in March 2021, but Hassan’s administration denies the accusation.
The continued harassment of the opposition, arbitrary arrest and trumped up charges are a reminder of the inadequacies of the current constitution and the need for constitutional reforms.
U.S Embassy in Tanzania in its statement through their Twitter account said, “The United States stands has always will stand up for fundamental rights and freedom.”
