A senior official from Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, was detained on Wednesday outside a Dar es Salaam court where the treason trial of the party’s leader was in session, according to party officials. The arrest occurred just a week before the country’s presidential election.
Tanzania’s two largest opposition parties—CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo—have been barred from contesting the October 29 polls, leaving incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan facing candidates from smaller parties.
In recent weeks, opposition figures and human rights groups have accused the government of intensifying a campaign of arrests and abductions targeting political opponents. President Hassan, however, has maintained that her administration is committed to upholding human rights and previously ordered an investigation into alleged abductions, though the findings have not been released.
CHADEMA Secretary General John Mnyika told reporters that the party’s deputy chair, John Heche, was being held at the central police station in Dar es Salaam, with no explanation provided for his detention.
Party spokesperson Brenda Rupia said Heche was arrested outside the city’s High Court while attending the trial of CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu. She added that police later transferred Heche to Tarime in northwest Tanzania without giving further details.
The country’s immigration department claimed in a statement on Saturday that Heche had previously left Tanzania without following proper procedures—a charge CHADEMA denies, saying he had travelled to attend the funeral of Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and senior police commanders Jumanne Muliro and Yustino Mgonja could not be reached.
Source:Africa Publicity
