Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu ends brief hunger strike

Lissu, who faces treason charge carrying a possible death sentence, refused food after being denied access to lawyers.

Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu appears at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania [File: Derick Katunzi/AP]

Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu has ended a brief hunger strike after prison authorities allowed him to meet privately with his lawyers, his lawyer has said.

Lissu, who leads the opposition’s Party for Democracy and Progress (CHADEMA) ‌and came second in the 2020 presidential election, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being held, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia wrote on X.

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“Lissu did not take his tea, breakfast or lunch,” his lawyer Rugemeleza Nshala told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Nshala said Lissu ended the strike after lunchtime, following the meeting with his brother.

His detention, along with the alleged abductions of ⁠government critics, has led to scrutiny of the human rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won a 2025 election.

The government has rejected accusations of ⁠widespread abuses and said it is committed to respecting human rights. It ordered an investigation into reports of abductions in 2024, though no official findings have been made public.

Accounts of Lissu’s protest have differed. While CHADEMA spokesperson Rupia said on X that Lissu began refusing food on Monday, Nshala told AP that the strike began on Tuesday morning, after promised private consultations failed to take place.

Tanzania’s prisons service denied the reports, telling the Swahili-language daily Mwananchi that Lissu was safe and was not on hunger strike.

Nshala had raised concerns about Lissu’s health, saying he relies on medication.

Lissu survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt. He was arrested in April 2025 after addressing a rally calling for electoral reforms, and was charged with treason over what prosecutors said was a speech urging the public to rebel and disrupt last year’s general election.

He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say the charges are politically motivated. A judgement is due on November 6.

On Tuesday, CHADEMA announced seven days of mourning, from Thursday to November 4, to mark the anniversary of the October 29 election. A government-appointed inquiry found that at least 518 people were killed in the violence that followed the vote. CHADEMA puts the death toll at about 2,000, a figure the United Nations said it could not verify.

面临叛国罪指控（可能判处死刑）的利苏在被拒绝会见律师后拒绝进食。

坦桑尼亚主要反对党领袖 Tundu Lissu 出现在坦桑尼亚达累斯萨拉姆的 Kisutu 地方治安法院 [文件：Derick Katunzi/美联社]

坦桑尼亚被监禁的反对派领导人图杜·利苏结束了短暂的绝食抗议，监狱当局允许他与律师私下会面，他的律师表示。

领导反对党民主与进步党（CHADEMA）并在 2020 年总统选举中获得第二名的利苏，在周一开始拒绝进食，此前他的律师被拒绝进入他被关押的监狱。该党发言人布伦达·鲁皮亚在 X 上写道。

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“利苏没吃早饭、早饭和午饭，”他的律师鲁格梅莱扎·恩沙拉周二告诉美联社。恩沙拉说，利苏在午饭后与他的兄弟会面后结束了罢工。

他的被拘留，以及据称政府批评人士遭到绑架，导致人们对赢得 2025 年大选的总统萨米娅·苏鲁胡·哈桑的人权记录进行了审查。

政府否认了有关普遍侵犯人权的指控，并表示致力于尊重人权。政府已下令对2024年发生的绑架事件展开调查，但尚未公布任何官方调查结果。

关于利苏抗议活动的说法不一。民主与发展党（CHADEMA）发言人鲁皮亚在X电视台表示，利苏从周一开始拒绝进食；而恩沙拉则告诉美联社，罢工始于周二上午，此前承诺的私下磋商未能举行。

坦桑尼亚监狱部门否认了这些报道，并告诉斯瓦希里语日报《Mwananchi》，利苏很安全，并没有绝食抗议。

恩沙拉曾对利苏的健康状况表示担忧，称他需要依赖药物治疗。

利苏在2017年的一次暗杀未遂事件中身中16枪幸存下来。2025年4月，他在一次呼吁选举改革的集会上发表讲话后被捕，并被控叛国罪，检方称他的演讲敦促公众反抗并扰乱去年的大选。

他已否认所有指控，其律师称这些指控是出于政治动机。判决将于11月6日宣判。

周二，民主与发展党（CHADEMA）宣布，为纪念10月29日大选周年，全国哀悼七天，从周四持续至11月4日。政府委任的调查发现，至少有518人在投票后的暴力冲突中丧生。民主与发展党则称死亡人数约为2000人，但联合国表示无法核实这一数字。