NAIROBI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Tanzania's main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, was cleared of treason but convicted of incitement and sentenced to four years in jail on Friday, in a case that rights groups and his supporters say is politically motivated.
Police surrounded the courtroom in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and crowds gathered nearby as authorities brought Lissu to the hearing in a heavily guarded convoy.
The chairperson of Tanzania's biggest opposition party, CHADEMA, was arrested in April last year. Protests over his detention and other grievances escalated into the worst political unrest in the country's history during elections in October 2025.
HUNDREDS DIED IN PROTESTS
The charge related to a speech Lissu gave that April when prosecutors say he told supporters that the opposition would "block the election" and "mobilise rebellion".
He pleaded not guilty, arguing during the trial that his speech did not violate any law and that the charges were politically motivated. The government has dismissed accusations of a crackdown on dissent and said protesters started the violence.
Video posted on CHADEMA's X account on Friday showed Lissu being escorted to the court by guards, some masked. He was seen waving his fist in the air briefly and shouting "Do not fear!" in Swahili.
More clips from CHADEMA showed Lissu in the dock, sporting dreadlocks with a blue rosary around his left arm, waving to people inside the packed courtroom and shouting "We will arrive". They were seen responding "Yes" in Swahili.
Lissu planned to appeal against the jail sentence, his party's spokesperson, Brenda Rupia, told Reuters. Rugemeleza Nshala, CHADEMA’s chief legal counsel, told reporters that he would also apply for bail in the meantime.
Amnesty International said the guilty verdict was a travesty of justice and called for Lissu's release.
“Tundu Lissu should never have been arrested, let alone prosecuted and convicted," Tigere Chagutah, the group's regional director for East and Southern Africa, said.
Lissu's detention, along with CHADEMA's disqualification from the vote and allegations by rights groups that government critics were abducted, was a key driver of protests that broke out during last year's elections.
Hundreds died as police opened fire on protesters in multiple cities, undermining the country's longstanding reputation for stability.
A commission appointed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in April that at least 518 people were killed in the violence, which it blamed on protesters.
Her government denied allegations by human rights groups that the security services used excessive force. She was declared winner of the election with nearly 98% of the vote.
The US ambassador to Tanzania, William Trachman, wrote on X on Thursday that he was closely following the trial and its "broader implications for the rule of law".
The US government said last December it was reviewing its relationship with Tanzania due to violence against civilians and other concerns.
(Writing by Aaron Ross and George Obulutsa;Editing by Alexander Winning, Ammu Kannampilly, Aaron Ross and Andrew Heavens)
