Tanzania clamps down on opposition rally, arrests leaders
Al Jazeera
Former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu and at least 500 youth supporters among those detained.
Police in Tanzania have detained opposition leaders and rounded up several hundred supporters as they halted a planned rally.
Leaders of the opposition Chadema party, including former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu, were arrested on Monday in the southwestern city of Mbeya, a party official announced on X. The police had previously banned the rally, claiming that violence was planned.
The Tanzanian police action comes amid a wave of protests that has swept other parts of sub-Saharan Africa in recent weeks, including nearby Kenya and Uganda.
Chadema’s director of communications and foreign affairs, John Mrema, said that the arrests were made as the party was due to hold a rally to mark International Youth Day. About 500 youth supporters were also detained while making their way to the event.
