Tanzania opposition leader set for verdict in high-stakes treason trial

Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu stands in the dock at Kisutu magistrate's court in Dar es Salaam on May 19, 2025. [AFP]

After 19 months in detention, Tanzania's main opposition leader  Tundu Lissu will know his fate on Friday in a treason trial that has drawn international criticism and carries a potential death penalty.

Lissu was arrested ahead of last year's presidential election for allegedly inciting a poll boycott.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government cracked down on opponents and critics ahead of the vote in October 2025, sparking huge protests during the election.

Security forces responded by killing thousands, according to the opposition and rights groups. The government puts the death toll at 518.

Security was heightened in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam this week ahead of the verdict on Lissu, an AFP journalist said, with analysts warning that it could spark further unrest.

Lissu's Chadema party has urged supporters to turn out in large numbers for the court session.

In a statement on Wednesday, police warned against "those who want to stage a coup", saying groups were mobilising to travel to the city.

The case has drawn criticism from Britain and the European Union, whose lawmakers have described it as politically motivated and called for Lissu's immediate release.

"The use of capital punishment against a political opponent risks turning the justice system into an instrument of political repression," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Tanzania's president.

"I am closely following the outcome of Tundu Lissu's trial proceedings, and the broader implications for the rule of law," US ambassador to Tanzania William Trachman posted on X.

The case marks the third high-profile treason trial in mainland Tanzania's history. The first two, in the 1970s and 1980s, involved defendants accused of plotting to overthrow and assassinate the country's founding president, Julius Nyerere.

Lissu faces a possible death sentence but insists he is innocent.

"The mood seems to be that it's a given that he will be found guilty, the question is more about what the punishment will be," Anna Bwana, director of civil society group Twaweza East Africa, told AFP.

This is the first time the 58-year-old activist has faced such serious charges, despite repeated arrests over his opposition to the government.

In 2017, he survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot 16 times, an attack he believes was politically motivated and which required him to undergo nearly 20 surgeries.

In his final submissions, he urged the three-judge panel to show "courage".

"My hope is that you will carry that heavy historical burden without bias, with courage and with the dignity carried by your judicial oaths," said Lissu, who represented himself in the case.