Senior Counsel and People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has condemned the recent arrest of Tanzania's opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, describing it as unfortunate, unacceptable, and a form of repression against political competition, particularly in a general election year.
Taking to her official X account (formerly Twitter), Karua criticised the arrest and called on the Tanzanian authorities to release the opposition leader immediately.
''Release Tundu Lissu. This is an unacceptable repression of competition in an election year,'' Karua wrote.
According to Chadema, Tanzania's main opposition party, Lissu was arrested on Wednesday shortly after he concluded addressing a public rally.
Following the arrest, human rights campaigners accused President Samia Suluhu's government of targeting opposition figures ahead of the national elections set for later this year.
Lissu was charged with treason a day after his arrest, with the charges connected to his nationwide campaign pushing for electoral reform under the slogan "No Reforms, No Election".
In the "No Reforms, No Election" campaign, Lissu has been demanding that the election body in the country be reconstituted to exclude people who were selected by President Suluhu.
The government is, however, against this campaign, accusing the party leader of rallying people against the elections expected to take place in October, when Lissu is expected to challenge President Suluhu.
This is not the first time Lissu has faced challenges in his campaigns; he survived being shot 16 times during an assassination attempt in 2017.
Lissu has been involved in Tanzanian politics for decades. He first gained prominence in the 1990s as a legal advocate, working on environmental and human rights issues.
Throughout his career, he has been a vocal critic of alleged government corruption and mismanagement, often clashing with authorities.
Following his arrest, the Tanzanian government has been accused of abuse of power and a lack of political tolerance by the country's lawyers' association. The opposition leader's treason case has been adjourned until April 24. By
