Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu has appeared in court for the first time since his arrest on treason charges last month, telling his supporters not to fear.
He raised his fist in a gesture of defiance and told his supporters: “You will be fine. You should not fear.”
Tension was high in the country’s biggest city, Dar es Salaam, in the morning, with security officers heavily deployed at the trial magistrate’s court and elsewhere.
But that did not deter his supporters, hundreds of whom gathered outside the court.
The court had previously attempted to conduct hearings virtually, but he and his legal team opposed this, citing the need for transparency and due process.
The Chadema party leader was arrested on 9 April following his rallying call for “no reforms, no election” – telling supporters that the general election due in October should not go ahead unless there are electoral reforms.
He has since been charged with treason and publishing false information online, which allegedly incited rebellion and accused police of electoral misconduct.
He denies the charges.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
On Monday, the prosecution said that investigations into the treason charges were still ongoing, with Lissu’s lawyers questioning the delay.
The court has urged the prosecution to hasten the process and the case will be heard again on 2 June.
Lissu’s team also raised concerns over the heavy police presence around the court, which the judges acknowledged, saying there would be consultations on whether this was justified.
The case, which Lissu has described as politically motivated, has heightened concerns over the state of democracy in the country.
It has attracted global attention, especially after the deportation of prominent Kenyan personalities who had travelled to the country in solidarity with Lissu.
On Sunday, former Justice Minister Martha Karua said she had been deported from Tanzania along with her two colleagues to prevent them from attending the trial.
The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition said it was shocked by the “arbitrary arrests”.
Hours later, former Kenyan chief justice Willy Mutunga and other prominent rights activists said they had been stopped and held at the airport.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has apparently backed the moves by the security agencies, saying: “We’ve started seeing a trend where some activists from our neighbouring countries are trying to interfere with our internal affairs.
“If they have been contained in their country, let them not come here to meddle. Let’s not give them a chance – they have already created chaos in their own country.
“We are the only country [in the region] that still has security and peace.
“I urge our security agencies… not to give a chance to indisciplined people from elsewhere to come create indiscipline here.”
Another former Kenyan chief justice, David Maraga, was in court and said that he hoped “the legal process ahead will be fair, just, and expeditious”.
Recent events in Tanzania, including the arrest of other opposition figures and a wave of abductions and killing targeting government critics, have sparked condemnation and calls for an end to political repression.
The Chadema party has been disqualified from the October general elections after demanding electoral reforms and refusing to comply with the electoral commission’s requirement to sign a code of conduct.
