JAILED TANZANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ENDS HUNGER STRIKE AS TREASON CASE TAKES NEW TURN
Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu has ended a brief hunger strike after prison authorities allowed him a private meeting with his younger brother.
Lissu, who leads the opposition CHADEMA party, reportedly refused food after being denied confidential access to his legal representatives.
His lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, confirmed on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, that the opposition leader had resumed eating following the meeting.
Lissu has been detained since April 2025 on treason charges linked to his calls for electoral reforms ahead of Tanzania’s general election.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a possible death sentence.
His continued detention has attracted international attention and raised questions about political freedoms and human rights under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
The Tanzanian government has rejected accusations of widespread human rights abuses and maintains that it is committed to respecting the law.
Meanwhile, CHADEMA has announced seven days of mourning to commemorate victims of violence surrounding the October 2025 elections.
A government-appointed inquiry found that at least 518 people died in the violence.
A judgment in Lissu’s treason case is expected on 6 November 2026.