Overview

• Tundu Lissu, leader of the opposition Chadema party, appeared in court on April 24 facing treason charges that carry a potential death penalty.
• Two senior Chadema officials, Deputy Chair John Heche and Secretary General John Mnyika, were detained by police while traveling to Lissu's court hearing in Dar es Salaam.
• Chadema has been disqualified from October's elections after refusing to sign an electoral code of conduct it claims is designed to entrench ruling party dominance.
• Amnesty International has condemned the charges and detentions, calling for Lissu's immediate release and criticizing the government's repressive tactics.
• President Samia Suluhu Hassan, initially seen as a reformer, faces growing criticism for escalating political repression, including arrests, abductions, and killings of opposition figures.