Tanzania's jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu to begin hunger strike on Monday

Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu will begin a hunger strike on Monday to protest prison authorities’ alleged refusal to allow court-ordered private consultations with his lawyers, his lawyer said on Saturday. (Associated Press via The Hindu)

Lissu’s lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, said Lissu told him of the planned strike during a meeting in prison. Nshala said he warned Lissu about the implications for his health because he relies on medication, and that Lissu was prepared to stop taking his medication. “I am ready to face the consequences, but I will fight for the rule of law,” Nshala quoted him as saying.

Nshala said authorities had denied private consultations despite a court order and, on some occasions, barred access to Lissu altogether. Prison authorities, police and the government had issued no public statements on the planned hunger strike, the Associated Press reported.

Lissu, the leader of Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, has been detained for more than 18 months. He was arrested on April 9, 2025, after addressing a rally calling for electoral reforms, and was charged with treason the following day. The charge carries a possible death sentence, with a final judgment scheduled for November 6. Lissu survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt, and previously went on hunger strike in May 2025 to protest being required to appear in court remotely rather than in person. (Arab News)