Tanzanian police arrest top opposition figure, party claims
A week before a presidential election, a representative of Tanzania’s biggest opposition party claimed Wednesday that a top official was arrested outside the court where the leader’s treason trial was ongoing.
Only smaller party candidates will challenge incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan in the October 29 election since the two biggest opposition parties in the East African country, CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo, are not allowed to run.
The government has been accused by opposition lawmakers and human rights organizations of kidnapping and arresting political opponents in the run-up to the vote.
Her government is dedicated to upholding human rights, according to Hassan, who also ordered a probe into last year’s abduction reports. No formal results have been released.
According to the party’s Secretary General John Mnyika, CHADEMA deputy chair John Heche was being arrested at the central police station in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s commercial hub. He said that authorities had not provided a reason for his incarceration.
When Heche arrived to attend the trial of party leader Tundu Lissu, he was arrested outside the city’s high court, according to party spokesperson Brenda Rupia on social networking site X.
She stated that in addition to transferring him to Tarime in northwest Tanzania, authorities had not yet provided an explanation for his arrest.
According to a statement released by the immigration authorities on Saturday, Heche had departed the country without following the proper processes. According to his party, he was supposed to be at the funeral of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and they refuted the allegations.
In response to a text message asking for comment on Wednesday’s arrest, Gerson Msigwa, the spokesperson for the Tanzanian government, did not immediately reply. Commentary from Yustino Mgonja and Jumanne Muliro, senior police commanders, was not immediately available.
