Opposition leaders detained

Leaders of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, have been detained amid plans to protest against recent abductions and murders of opposition members. Among those arrested was the party chairman Freeman Mbowe and his deputy, Tundu Lissu. Chadema spokesperson John Mrema confirmed that Lissu was arrested at his home in Dar es Salaam, while Mbowe was picked up on the street in the Magomeni area ahead of the planned demonstration. The Daily Maverick reports that the arrests come only a few weeks after they were previously detained, along with more than 500 people, while planning to attend a Youth Day rally in the southwestern city of Mbeya. Police had banned the gathering ahead of the 12 August meeting on the grounds that it was likely to ‘breach the peace’, Reuters reported. The mass arrests surprised analysts as they came after Tanzanian President Samia Hassan last year lifted a ban on opposition gatherings and pledged to restore competitive politics in the country. Hassan had been steadily freeing the country’s restrictive political landscape fostered by her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli. Mrema said his party was concerned by the government’s recent change in attitude towards opposition gatherings. ‘We have seen the government is changing dramatically towards the coming local government elections and we are seriously worried. They want to instil fear in our people,’ he told DM.