Tanzania opposition holds first rally since ban lifted

Chadema supporters gesture during the party's first political rally at Furahisha Grounds in Mwanza, on January 21, 2023. [VOA photo]

Tanzania's main opposition party held Saturday its first mass rally since the lifting of a ban imposed in 2016, raising hopes the government is committed to increased political freedom in the East African nation.

"It was not easy after those seven years of banning political meetings," the director for communications and foreign affairs for the Chadema party, Jon Mrema, told cheering supporters.