Tundu Lissu breaks silence after Tanzania court conviction, calls treason case a political fabrication

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has broken his silence following a High Court conviction for incitement, rejecting the decision as a political fabrication and a means to maintain his imprisonment. In a statement on November 6, 2026, Lissu criticized the court's ruling, which acquitted him of treason but convicted him of incitement, stating that the original charge was politically motivated and that the prosecution failed to prove the central element of the treason allegation - an intention to intimidate the government.

The court's decision to convict Lissu of incitement, rather than treason, has sparked controversy, with Lissu alleging that the judges searched for a lesser charge to justify his continued detention. The prosecution argued that Lissu's statements urging Tanzanians to prevent or disrupt the 2025 General Election constituted incitement under Tanzania's Criminal Procedure Act.

Brief written by urgent.news from People Daily Kenya's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.